Benin Management CORP Cuts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Benin Management CORP decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,342 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 0.7% of Benin Management CORP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the first quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 11,088 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,384,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,646 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,684,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,598 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $319,000. Finally, Constitution Capital LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $578,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $519.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.38 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $479.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $452.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.49, for a total value of $15,464,732.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.49, for a total transaction of $15,464,732.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 233,512 shares of company stock valued at $113,597,536 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.05.

Meta Platforms 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.