Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its Meta Platforms stake by 3.6% in the first quarter, bringing its total holding to 60,246 shares valued at about $34.5 million.
• Meta reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $10.44 beating expectations and revenue of $56.31 billion topping estimates, while quarterly revenue rose 33.1% year over year.
• Despite some recent analyst target cuts, Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.64; the company also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 60,246 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $34,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. WMS Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $876,000. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META traded up $11.49 on Tuesday, reaching $611.78. The company had a trading volume of 2,567,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,495,410. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $601.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $627.66. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush raised Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.64.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank AG upgraded Meta Platforms from “hold” to “buy,” a supportive signal that can lift investor confidence in the stock. Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META Raised to "Buy" at Erste Group Bank
• Positive Sentiment: Meta was also highlighted in multiple “best ideas” and bullish commentary pieces, including a CNBC “Final Trades” mention and analysis around its AI and neocloud expansion, reinforcing the view that the company’s long-term growth story remains intact.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Meta may expand into the neocloud business could be seen as strategically interesting, but the market impact is still uncertain because it is not yet a confirmed revenue driver.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta disclosed that four U.S. states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties in an upcoming youth-safety trial, a major legal overhang that could weigh on shares due to the size of the potential liability. Meta says US states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties in August youth safety trial
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reports that India is pressuring Meta over child-abuse related ads on Instagram add to regulatory pressure and could further hurt sentiment around the company’s content-moderation risks.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg also reportedly said Meta’s AI agent development “hasn't really accelerated” as expected, which may raise questions about near-term returns on the company’s heavy AI spending.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 39,513 shares of company stock valued at $24,419,874 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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