Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO Sells 5,661 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 70.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,336 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,661 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $876,000. Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the sale, the director owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is getting recognition from some investors as a long-term AI winner, with articles highlighting it as a top AI stock in billionaire David Tepper’s portfolio and a high-conviction hedge fund holding.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new $299 AI smart glasses broaden its wearable lineup and could help expand consumer adoption beyond higher-priced models. Reuters: Meta announces new range of smart glasses starting at $299
• Positive Sentiment: Facebook is rolling out an AI companion app for creators, which may improve engagement and give Meta another tool to support monetization across its platforms.
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm said Meta will be the first major customer for its new data-center CPU, signaling that Meta is continuing to invest heavily in next-generation AI infrastructure. CNBC: Qualcomm announces AI data center CPU, signs Meta as first major customer
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is giving some engineers a way to leave its AI training unit after a recent reorganization, which may help morale but does not directly change the company’s financial outlook. Business Insider: Meta forced thousands of engineers into AI training work. Now it’s giving some a way out.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Meta is building an experimental prediction markets app could open a new consumer product category, but the revenue impact remains uncertain and the project is still early. Reuters: Mark Zuckerberg directed Meta to create a prediction markets app, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: European regulators are escalating an investigation into whether Facebook and Instagram use addictive design features for children, increasing the risk of fines or product changes. Reuters: EU to ramp up Meta probe into addictive design, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. government is also pressuring Meta to submit AI models for security reviews, adding another layer of regulatory uncertainty around the company’s AI strategy. Reuters: US presses Meta to agree to AI reviews as security concerns rise

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $557.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $617.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $632.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.