Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Cumberland Partners Ltd cut its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 111,034 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,989 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 4.5% of Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $65,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after buying an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 87,269.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,067,659 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $625,125,000 after buying an additional 1,066,437 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,662,000 after buying an additional 890,434 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after purchasing an additional 698,884 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,318,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,471,822,000 after purchasing an additional 550,852 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.49, for a total transaction of $238,503.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,166 shares in the company, valued at $11,068,173.34. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 813,030 shares of company stock worth $525,952,077. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.5 %

META opened at $673.70 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $650.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $594.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 target price (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

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.