Cumberland Partners Ltd Buys 1,764 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners increased its Meta stake by 3.5% in the second quarter, acquiring 1,764 shares for a total of 52,806 shares valued at approximately $29.7 million. Meta now represents 1.9% of Cumberland’s portfolio.
• Institutional investors hold 79.91% of Meta’s stock, while insiders have sold 32,987 shares worth about $19.2 million over the past 90 days. Several major brokerages maintain Buy or Outperform ratings, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and $785.22 price target.
• Meta shares opened at $616.77, below their 52-week high of $790.80. The company exceeded revenue expectations with $60.8 billion in quarterly revenue, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed the $7.19 consensus estimate.

Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,806 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,764 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.9% of Cumberland Partners Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537,076 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,043,955 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,629,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $754,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $910,200. The trade was a 45.33% 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. Insiders sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $616.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $597.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $608.89. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Legal settlement may reduce uncertainty. Jim Cramer said Meta is attractively valued after a settlement eased a major legal overhang. Investors may view the resolution of litigation as improving visibility, even though the settlement carries a substantial cost. Jim Cramer Says Meta Is At the Price
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure investment highlights long-term growth potential. Meta’s large Louisiana AI data-center project is generating local economic activity and underscores the company’s commitment to expanding computing capacity for AI products and services. The investment could support future monetization, although it also implies significant capital spending. Meta AI Data Center Louisiana Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated. Meta is trending among Zacks users, while broader coverage continues to focus on its AI strategy, advertising business and valuation. This may increase trading interest but does not represent a new fundamental catalyst by itself. Meta Trending Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Teen-safety settlement creates a major financial and regulatory burden. Reports say Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve claims that its platforms contributed to a teen mental-health crisis. The payment could pressure cash flow and reinforce concerns about increased oversight of social-media companies, despite removing litigation uncertainty. Meta Teen Safety Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: AI governance scrutiny is intensifying. The United Nations reportedly issued a sharper warning regarding AI governance, putting pressure on Meta to address safety, accountability and potential misuse as its AI operations expand. New rules or compliance costs could weigh on future returns. Meta AI Quarter and UN Governance Warning
• Negative Sentiment: Facial-recognition lawsuit adds privacy risk. Meta is facing a suit alleging that facial-recognition technology was used to train smart-glasses systems. The claims could create additional legal costs, reputational damage and scrutiny of Meta’s wearable-AI ambitions. Meta Facial Recognition Lawsuit

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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