Cheviot Value Management LLC Has $26.69 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Cheviot Value Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,543 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,827 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.3% of Cheviot Value Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Cheviot Value Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 712.2% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,462,589,000 after buying an additional 2,225,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $1,162,918,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $7.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $769.30. 7,308,601 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,494,221. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $711.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $649.96. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $784.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,024 shares of company stock valued at $188,466,159 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $828.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

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.