Iowa State Bank Buys 1,184 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Iowa State Bank increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,496 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.4% of Iowa State Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly preparing to launch Hatch, a consumer AI agent that could let users browse Reddit, order from DoorDash, shop on Etsy, access Yelp and manage Outlook within Meta’s ecosystem. The product could increase engagement with Meta’s platforms and strengthen its position in consumer AI. Reddit Stock Is Up, What You Need to Know
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to accelerating advertising growth, AI-powered ad tools, rising user engagement and increased advertiser adoption as factors helping Meta outperform social-media rivals Reddit and Snap. META Rides on Ad Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Former OpenAI researcher Luke Metz has joined Meta’s Superintelligence Labs and will report to AI chief Alexandr Wang. The hire supports Meta’s effort to build advanced AI capabilities, although the financial benefits are longer term. Luke Metz Joins Meta’s Superintelligence Labs
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports highlighted substantial Meta insider-trading activity during August, including notable transactions on August 18. The article did not establish whether the activity represented buying or selling, limiting its immediate stock-price significance. Monster Insider Trading Alert for Meta Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Instagram chief Adam Mosseri is testifying in a lawsuit brought by 29 states alleging that Meta designed Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to children while downplaying safety risks. An adverse outcome could create regulatory, redesign and financial costs. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri to Testify at Meta Trial

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,957 shares of company stock valued at $20,442,696. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,015.00 to $883.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.32.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $570.05 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $592.21 and its 200-day moving average is $613.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.

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.