Country Trust Bank Sells 18,294 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Country Trust Bank decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 136,089 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 18,294 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 152,934,920 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $32,413,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,997 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,424,543,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,803,774 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,859,893,000 after purchasing an additional 6,735,038 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,223,148,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,072,543,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.34, for a total value of $205,247.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,542,891.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.19, for a total value of $3,258,780.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 91,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,052,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.34, for a total value of $205,247.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,542,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,457 shares of company stock worth $12,273,577. 14.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.7 %

META stock opened at $302.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.09 and a twelve month high of $326.20. The stock's 50 day moving average is $302.40 and its 200-day moving average is $260.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The social networking company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.36. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 18.70%. The business had revenue of $32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.91 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 13.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. 92 Resources reaffirmed a "maintains" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $280.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $320.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $313.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, forty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $319.79.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.

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