Independence Bank of Kentucky Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,973 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.6% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 6,838 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 6,222 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.7 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $3.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $528.00. 11,304,691 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,221,447. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $502.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $491.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.03 and a 52-week high of $544.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company 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%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $2,663,825.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,315,852.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 318,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 418,680 shares of company stock valued at $211,992,147 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $574.41.

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.