Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO Has $3.16 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 25.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,528 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.2% of Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $576.79 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $544.01 and a 200-day moving average of $507.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly 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. 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 analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total value of $443,269.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,206,674. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,054,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.80, for a total transaction of $443,269.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,206,674. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,911 shares of company stock valued at $131,887,905 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $643.00 to $811.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $613.71.

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.