Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Benchstone Capital Management LP's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Benchstone Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 74.1%, acquiring an additional 30,058 shares in the first quarter, raising its total to 70,619 shares valued at approximately $40.7 million.
• Meta Platforms has received various analyst endorsements, with Oppenheimer raising its price target to $870.00, indicating a positive outlook and an "outperform" rating.
• Insider transactions show notable sales, with Director Robert M. Kimmitt selling 465 shares for about $364,709, reflecting a 4.98% decrease in ownership following the sale.

Benchstone Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 74.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,619 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 30,058 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 4.3% of Benchstone Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Benchstone Capital Management LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $3.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $735.11. The company had a trading volume of 9,294,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,485,708. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.24. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $736.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $657.96. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 312,767 shares of company stock worth $234,716,347. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.