Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Reduced by Cheviot Value Management LLC

Cheviot Value Management LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,283 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,971 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.3% of Cheviot Value Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Cheviot Value Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $31,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Hamilton Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hamilton Capital Partners LLC now owns 24,760 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been upgrading Meta and lifting price targets after the company’s strong Q4 print and exceptionally strong Q1 revenue guide, supporting upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages reiterated/raised ratings — examples include Cantor Fitzgerald bumping its target to $860 and Barclays keeping an Overweight — reinforcing the buy-side view that fundamentals and ad recovery justify higher multiples. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/tech headlines around AI capex are creating mixed market reactions: Meta’s AI investments and infrastructure plans underpin growth but also increase near-term spending volatility; that ambiguity is tempering momentum. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is locking in off-grid power for hyperscale data needs (reported prepayment/agreements with SMR developers), which secures energy for AI workloads but implies long-dated infrastructure commitments. This is strategic but capital-intensive. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators warn that AI capex and Reality Labs spending are rising quickly; several notes caution that mounting expenses could compress margins if revenue acceleration slows. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: India’s top court questioned WhatsApp’s data-sharing with Meta entities and warned a ban could be reimposed — a tangible legal/regulatory headwind in a major market. Read More.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.1%

NASDAQ META opened at $691.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $655.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $695.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on META. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $872.00 target price (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $848.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,077 shares of company stock valued at $23,955,958. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.