Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Takes $6.21 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,319 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,211,000. Meta Platforms comprises 2.6% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 4,566 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 15,642 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 4,493 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 13,596 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,812,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $9.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $527.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,715,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,365,660. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.38 and a 1-year high of $542.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $500.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $487.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total transaction of $423,150.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,234,091.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.57, for a total value of $423,150.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,275 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,091.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 349,174 shares of company stock valued at $175,146,777 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $574.41.

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.