Scharf Investments LLC Has $100.96 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Scharf Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4,086.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 152,940 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 149,287 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.7% of Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $100,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total transaction of $1,574,473.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares in the company, valued at $7,746,335.16. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,931 shares of company stock valued at $102,997,526. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $573.02 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $635.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $657.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $872.00 price objective (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $843.57.

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.