Benchstone Capital Management LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Benchstone Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 13,796 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 3.7% of Benchstone Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Benchstone Capital Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $41,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bienville Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bienville Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 146.9% in the second quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 4,370 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $249,000. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the second quarter. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. now owns 4,544 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,354,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abbot Financial Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $854,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of META stock opened at $644.23 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $665.92 and a 200 day moving average of $706.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $669.63, for a total value of $346,198.71. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,082.13. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.16, for a total value of $344,699.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,067,594.40. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 41,959 shares of company stock worth $26,578,191 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.46.

About Meta Platforms

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.