Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, acquiring an additional 2,993 shares, bringing its total to 10,333 shares, which represent approximately 3.9% of its portfolio.
• Several research firms raised their price targets for Meta Platforms, with estimates now ranging from $870.00 to $905.00 and a consensus average target price of $822.41.
• Meta's recent earnings report showed $7.14 earnings per share, exceeding forecasts, and a revenue increase of 21.6% year-over-year, indicating strong financial performance.

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 40.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,333 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,993 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 3.9% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benchstone Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $23,749,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $755.11, for a total transaction of $390,391.87. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,611 shares in the company, valued at $9,522,692.21. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.47, for a total value of $389,493.93. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,335,490.69. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,803 shares of company stock valued at $235,398,025. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $12.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $738.70. The company had a trading volume of 9,057,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,275,794. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $735.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $657.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

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.