Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Country Trust Bank’s 10th Largest Position

Country Trust Bank reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,369 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 18,025 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.0% of Country Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $82,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $592.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $532.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $503.76. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on META shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $660.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $601.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 14,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.38, for a total value of $7,487,274.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 135,442 shares in the company, valued at $68,178,793.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 266,332 shares of company stock valued at $139,981,833 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.