Cumberland Advisors Inc. Sells 486 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Cumberland Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 5.8%, selling 486 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 7,964 shares valued at approximately $4.59 million.
• Meta recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14, exceeding analysts' forecasts and showing a revenue increase of 21.6% compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, yielding annualized dividends of 0.3%, with a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Cumberland Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,964 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 486 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.1% of Cumberland Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Cumberland Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Csenge Advisory Group raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on META. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0%

Meta Platforms stock traded up $7.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $769.30. 7,308,601 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,494,221. The firm'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. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total transaction of $399,835.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,436,673.30. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,024 shares of company stock worth $188,466,159. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.