Bensler LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,916 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the quarter. Bensler LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 53.6% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total value of $363,819.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,457,283. This trade represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,462 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $1,025,052.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,834,277.94. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 85,593 shares of company stock worth $56,008,477. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
META stock traded up $19.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $701.96. The company had a trading volume of 9,197,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,501,275. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $604.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $619.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $676.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $706.88.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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