First National Trust Co Sells 123 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

First National Trust Co reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 58,474 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.2% of First National Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.2 %

META stock opened at $500.27 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $544.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $505.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $660.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $576.66.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 390,977 shares of company stock worth $202,384,548. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Meta Platforms

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.