Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Sells 82 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,292 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.0% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after buying an additional 118,298 shares during the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $235,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 721,339 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $412,606,000 after purchasing an additional 91,773 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $608.33 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $358.61 and a 1 year high of $638.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $594.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $554.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total transaction of $22,746,973.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 423,427 shares of company stock worth $256,996,450. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.