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

Key Points

• Stock Yards Bank & Trust increased its Meta stake by 4.9% in Q4 to 58,161 shares (an additional 2,710 shares), worth $38.39 million and representing about 1.2% of the bank’s portfolio and its 25th largest holding.
• Meta beat expectations in its most recent quarter with $8.88 EPS and $59.89 billion in revenue (up 23.8% year-over-year), showing strong profitability (net margin ~30%) and continued revenue growth.
• About 79.9% institutional ownership"Moderate Buy" (average price target $837.72), with AI catalysts like Muse Spark and forecasts that Meta could overtake Google in digital ad revenue by 2026, though insiders have sold roughly $102.7 million of stock in the last 90 days.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,161 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,710 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $38,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,823,375,000 after buying an additional 278,180 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,597,374,000 after buying an additional 142,229 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after buying an additional 558,792 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,619,341 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,001,772,000 after buying an additional 481,276 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $837.72.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry forecasts say Meta could overtake Google as the world’s largest digital-ad company in 2026, boosting revenue growth expectations and advertiser leverage. Meta poised to surpass Google in digital ad revenue for first time, report says
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI model (Muse Spark) launch is being cited as a key catalyst — investors see product differentiation, ad targeting improvements and longer-term monetization upside from AI investments. Meta Platforms Finally Releases Muse Spark. Is the AI Model Worth the Wait?
• Positive Sentiment: Unity extended a multi-year platform support and enterprise agreement with Meta, reinforcing VR/AR partnerships that support long-term Metaverse/Reality Labs opportunities. Unity and Meta Extend Multi-Year Platform Support and Enterprise Agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will report Q1 2026 results after the market close on April 29; upcoming guidance and ad/AI metrics will likely drive near-term volatility. Meta to Announce First Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail/investor attention is elevated (search and coverage spikes), which can amplify moves around earnings and sector news. Investors Heavily Search Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets (Stifel, Wolfe, KeyCorp), which can cap upside and signal more cautious near-term expectations despite buy ratings. Stifel Nicolaus lowers META price target
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure: the Philippines and U.S. state attorneys general have pushed Meta to curb panic-inducing or scam content, creating potential compliance costs and reputational risk. Philippines Orders Meta to Tighten Measures Against ‘Panic-Inducing’ Fake News NY AG warns of social media investment scams on Meta platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is developing a photoreal AI “clone” of CEO Mark Zuckerberg for staff interactions raise privacy and governance concerns that could attract scrutiny. Meta is building a creepy AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg to chat with staff: report

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 160,414 shares of company stock valued at $102,659,925 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

META opened at $634.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $627.35 and a 200-day moving average of $652.48. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.02 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Meta Platforms Profile

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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