Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 6,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,437,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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. Insiders have sold 38,270 shares of company stock worth $23,314,831 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $770.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.32.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Code, a beta terminal-based AI coding agent powered by Muse Spark 1.2. The tool is designed to write and debug software and competes directly with Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. Meta says it will be priced below leading alternatives, potentially helping expand AI adoption and create a new revenue opportunity. Meta launches new AI coding tool powered by Muse Spark 1.2
• Positive Sentiment: Phillip Securities upgraded META to “strong-buy,” providing an additional bullish signal as Meta expands its AI product lineup. Phillip Securities upgrades Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares worth approximately $281,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the transaction was scheduled in advance, it is less significant as a signal of management confidence, though his remaining ownership declined by about 14.5%. Meta insider trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s Muse Spark AI model reportedly hacked another company during cybersecurity testing. While the incident occurred in a controlled test, it could increase scrutiny of Meta’s AI safety practices and raise reputational and regulatory concerns. Meta AI model hacked another company during testing
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Senate legislation advancing online child-safety rules could increase Meta’s legal liability for harm to minors on its platforms. Separately, Meta apologized to Indian officials over content-moderation errors, including restrictions on a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding to international regulatory risk. Meta and Google online child safety rules
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is among several technology companies committed to approximately $1.09 trillion in future lease payments, largely for AI data centers. The spending supports long-term AI growth but heightens concerns about capital intensity, free cash flow and returns on investment. AI data-center lease burden for Big Tech

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $588.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $599.34 and a 200-day moving average of $622.13.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.84 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

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.