Quadrant Capital Group LLC Purchases 2,421 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Quadrant Capital Group increased its Meta position by 4.3% in the third quarter, buying 2,421 shares to hold 59,030 shares valued at approximately $45.0 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta delivered stronger-than-expected third-quarter results, reporting $64.6 billion in revenue, up 26.1% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus the $6.54 consensus estimate.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Meta carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $833.12, although elevated AI spending, negative free cash flow, and ongoing legal and regulatory risks remain key concerns.

Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,030 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,421 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.2% of Quadrant Capital Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Quadrant Capital Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 operating performance: Meta reported $64.6 billion in revenue, up 26% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus expectations of roughly $6.54. AI-driven recommendations and advertising tools are improving engagement, ad pricing and conversions. META Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption supports the AI thesis: Meta’s Muse AI agent has surpassed 10 million downloads, strengthening the case that the company could eventually monetize AI through subscriptions, enterprise services and additional advertising. However, meaningful revenue contribution is expected later, potentially from 2027 onward. Meta Muse Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive: UBS, Citigroup, Mizuho, JPMorgan, Bank of America and other firms raised or reaffirmed bullish ratings and price targets, citing resilient advertising growth and long-term AI potential. Some investors, including commentator Mike Khouw, view the selloff as a buying opportunity. Why Mike Khouw Is Buying Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares and a 2-for-1 split: Meta plans to issue one non-voting Class C share for each Class A and Class B share. The move should improve trading liquidity and give Mark Zuckerberg greater flexibility to sell shares or finance AI investment without surrendering voting control, but it does not by itself create economic value for shareholders. Meta’s New Non-Voting Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Commercial terms delayed: Meta postponed controversial terms that publishers and advertisers said could authorize broader web scraping, moving implementation to November 20 from October 30. The delay may reduce near-term friction, though the underlying regulatory and customer concerns remain. Meta Delays Commercial Terms
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is the main pressure: Meta lifted the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Free cash flow turned negative as infrastructure investment accelerated, while credit-default-swap costs reached records. Investors are questioning when Muse and other AI projects will generate returns. Meta AI Spending and Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory risks remain significant: Meta faces a $25 billion New Mexico privacy judgment, additional lawsuits alleging harm to children and scam advertising, and rising legal costs. The company plans to appeal the New Mexico ruling, but the liabilities add uncertainty and pressure margins. Meta New Mexico Privacy Judgment

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $642.62 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The company has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $664.40 and a 200-day moving average of $630.11.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.25 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on META. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $850.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, CICC Research decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $833.12.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 148,440 shares of company stock worth $101,456,300 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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