Community Trust & Investment Co. Has $32.33 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 56,471 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.1% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Central Valley Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,852.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of META stock opened at $567.78 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $549.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $509.99. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Pivotal Research initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $585.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $619.20.

Meta Platforms Company 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.