Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,150,018 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 27,252 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.0% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $673,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $61,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $717.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This represents a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total transaction of $39,897,337.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 810,217 shares of company stock worth $523,808,864 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $694.84 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $645.83 and its 200-day moving average is $589.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.36%.

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.