Cullinan Associates Inc. Sells 1,245 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Cullinan Associates Inc. reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 5.9% in the first quarter, selling 1,245 shares and leaving it with 19,883 shares valued at about $11.4 million.
• Meta continues to attract mixed analyst sentiment: several firms upgraded or maintained bullish ratings, while others downgraded the stock. Overall, MarketBeat shows an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a price target of $830.45.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $10.44 EPS and $56.31 billion in revenue, but the stock was still noted as down 2.5% on the day and has seen ongoing insider selling and AI-related investor debate.

Cullinan Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,883 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,245 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Cullinan Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Cullinan Associates Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bayban grew its position in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of META opened at $664.54 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $602.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $626.87. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,241,859. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame Meta as a major AI winner, with reports citing significant upside potential and strong hedge fund support. Muse Image: Can Meta Platforms Inc (META) Kill Two Birds With One Stone?
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is still drawing bullish attention for its heavy AI infrastructure spending, including plans for large-scale data center investment and in-house chip development, which investors view as evidence of an aggressive AI strategy. How Meta Platforms (META) Is Strengthening Its AI Infrastructure With Custom Chips and Massive Computing Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also received a fresh analyst update from Wedbush with a neutral rating and a $671 price target, implying modest upside from current levels. Benzinga coverage of Wedbush rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Meta’s AI chatbot safety changes and oversight-board findings adds to the company’s public-policy and product discussion, but these items are not clearly major financial catalysts. Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot Meta Oversight Board finds top AI models less likely to criticize repressive regimes
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing a lawsuit from former employees alleging AI-driven layoffs disproportionately affected workers on protected leave, which could create legal and reputational risk. Meta employees sue over alleged AI-driven layoffs targeting workers on leave
• Negative Sentiment: Some broader commentary points to insider selling and concerns about the size of Meta’s capital spending, which could weigh on sentiment if investors worry about returns on its AI investments. Meta Vs. Microsoft: Insider Selling Shows Meta's 1.4 Trillion Existential Crisis Worse Than Microsoft's Legal Woes Meta Is Betting $50 Billion on AI Data Centers. Where Does The Stock Go From Here?

Meta Platforms Profile

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.

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