Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Quattro Financial Advisors LLC Trims Position

Key Points

• Quattro Financial Advisors LLC cut its Meta position by 12.6% in the third quarter, selling 2,096 shares and retaining 14,489 shares worth approximately $10.5 million.
• Institutional investors own about 79.9% of Meta’s outstanding shares, with several major firms—including State Street, Bank of America, UBS and Amundi—recently increasing their holdings.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with Meta carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $808.88; the stock recently traded at $709.33 despite the company missing quarterly EPS estimates while exceeding revenue expectations.

Quattro Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,489 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,096 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.2% of Quattro Financial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after buying an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,230,426,000 after buying an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after buying an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citic Securities lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $886.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $808.88.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $709.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.19. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $655.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $625.86. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,797 shares of company stock valued at $102,180,385. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to exceed third-quarter revenue expectations, forecasting $63.8 billion versus a $63.3 billion consensus estimate, and maintained a Buy rating with an $810 price target. Meta expected to beat revenue forecasts as AI boosts advertising, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and AI-agent tasks, while its collaboration with Apple enables developers to run the model locally on high-end Mac computers. The developments could broaden adoption of Meta’s AI technology and reduce reliance on cloud infrastructure. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $920 price target, implying substantial upside, while other analysts including KeyCorp and Rosenblatt also maintained positive ratings. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to report third-quarter results on October 21. Investors will focus on advertising growth, user metrics, profitability, capital expenditures, and management’s outlook for AI infrastructure spending. Meta Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta withdrew $25 million from a previously announced $65 million effort to support political candidates considered favorable to the AI industry. The move may reduce near-term spending but signals a change in its political strategy. Meta Withdraws $25 Million from Its Midterms Push
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst-related pressure is weighing on the stock after Goldman Sachs lowered its expectations and Meta was reported down following an analyst downgrade, countering the more bullish JPMorgan view. Meta stock price down on analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending could reach approximately $205 billion in 2027. Heavy capital expenditures are reducing free cash flow, while potential legal charges and regulatory scrutiny add to earnings risk. Meta AI spending could hit $205 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Seven U.S. senators are questioning Meta’s claim of $6.6 billion in research tax credits for AI data centers, creating potential tax liability and reputational risk. Senators question Meta AI data-center tax credits

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company's principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.

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