Benjamin Edwards Inc. Decreases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 925 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vantage Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.0% during the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,308 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rollins Financial boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 30,657 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at $19,258,362.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total transaction of $449,775.95. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at $19,258,362.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 356,426 shares of company stock valued at $185,053,425 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on META shares. TD Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $561.35 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $564.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $507.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $497.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Meta Platforms Company 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.