Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,261 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. DHK Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $252,000. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 706,450 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 17,225 shares in the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 23,107 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $11,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 33,251 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,766,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.9 %

META stock opened at $559.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $505.40 and its 200 day moving average is $496.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $279.40 and a one year high of $562.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at $15,034,122.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

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.