Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Fulton Bank N.A.

Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 44,605 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,478 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Fulton Bank N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $25,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. WMS Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $876,000. Diversified Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% during 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. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. This trade represents a 1.08% 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. Insiders have sold 39,513 shares of company stock valued at $24,419,874 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.64.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Meta’s expanding AI and cloud ambitions, including a potential move into the “neocloud” business by renting out excess computing capacity. Supporters argue this could open a new revenue stream and turn heavy AI spending into a long-term advantage.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary also pointed to Meta’s strong core business, with recent revenue growth and high operating margins reinforcing the case that the company can fund large AI investments while still producing substantial cash flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: One report noted a director sold 500 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is unlikely to signal a meaningful change in insider sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta disclosed that four U.S. states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties in an upcoming August youth-safety trial over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed to be addictive for young users and that the company misled the public about safety. The eye-popping figure raises legal risk and reputational concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports said India ordered Meta to remove child abuse-related content and ads from Instagram, adding to regulatory pressure and underscoring ongoing moderation and safety concerns across key markets.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ META opened at $600.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $601.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $627.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

About Meta Platforms

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.