Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Cut to “Hold” at Benchmark

Benchmark downgraded shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports.

META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $880.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,086.00 to $1,117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $897.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $648.35 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $738.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $697.96. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. 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 at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $769.38, for a total transaction of $12,192,364.86. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 198,335 shares of company stock worth $153,047,009 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.7% during the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,614,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.