Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) Shares Sold by Central Bank & Trust Co.

Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,991 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 517 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Facebook were worth $2,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HCR Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Facebook during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,091,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in Facebook by 3,206.5% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 67,287 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,741,000 after buying an additional 65,252 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in Facebook during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,418,000. M Holdings Securities Inc. raised its position in Facebook by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. now owns 14,088 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after buying an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Capital Management raised its position in Facebook by 2.8% in the first quarter. Howard Capital Management now owns 134,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $19,136,000 after buying an additional 3,726 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.63% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) opened at 164.14 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $153.43 and its 200-day moving average is $142.52. Facebook, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.55 and a 12-month high of $165.70. The company has a market capitalization of $475.71 billion, a PE ratio of 41.73 and a beta of 0.67.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The social networking company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.16. Facebook had a net margin of 36.45% and a return on equity of 20.27%. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 49.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Facebook, Inc. will post $4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FB. Pacific Crest reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Facebook in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Facebook from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Wedbush set a $185.00 target price on Facebook and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Facebook in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Nomura set a $165.00 target price on Facebook and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, forty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Facebook has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $166.98.

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 286,387 shares of Facebook stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.40, for a total transaction of $42,499,830.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Koum sold 31,663 shares of Facebook stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.38, for a total transaction of $5,078,111.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,375,974 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,877,536. Insiders own 19.08% of the company’s stock.

About Facebook

Facebook, Inc is focused on building products that enable people to connect and share through mobile devices, personal computers and other surfaces. The Company’s products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus. Facebook enables people to connect, share, discover and communicate with each other on mobile devices and personal computers.

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