Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Increased by Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Westbourne Investment Advisors raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% to 27,489 shares valued at $18.145 million, making META about 5.0% of Westbourne’s portfolio and reflecting that roughly 79.9% of the stock is held by institutional investors.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares (~$5.11M) and COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares (~$1.75M), with insiders selling 166,117 shares worth about $106.37M over the past three months (Olivan’s sales under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan).
• Analyst momentum and AI/infrastructure catalysts support upside: Meta has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $837.09 average target, while firms (e.g., Jefferies, Evercore) raised targets and Meta extended AI partnerships and is expanding data‑center capacity.

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,489 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 5.0% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Goldstone Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% 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. Insiders sold a total of 166,117 shares of company stock worth $106,367,778 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Arete Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $837.09.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank reiterates a Buy and highlights Meta’s AI investments that could boost core ad revenue — bullish research note and $920 target underpins upside expectations. Deutsche Bank AI Impact
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target (to ~$908) and Citi/JMP reaffirmed market-outperform/near-$900 targets — multiple analyst upgrades lend momentum to the rally and support investor confidence. UBS hikes target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta broke ground on a >$1B data center in Tulsa and is ramping AI-capacity builds — tangible infrastructure expansion signals commitment to AI compute and long-term revenue/efficiency gains. Tulsa data center
• Positive Sentiment: Noon Energy partnership reserves up to 1 GW / 100 GWh of long‑duration energy storage for Meta data centers — supports resilient, green AI operations and may lower operational risk/costs for large-capex builds. Noon Energy deal
• Positive Sentiment: Broadcom extended/expanded AI partnership with Meta through 2029 — supply/partnership continuity for AI hardware helps execution of Meta’s scale-up plans. Broadcom pact
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Q1 earnings (Apr 29): company guidance implies very strong YoY revenue growth and Muse Spark AI monetization will be watched — results/guidance could amplify moves in either direction. Earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan disclosed scheduled sales under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan (multiple small blocks sold) — routine insider selling but worth noting given timing; not currently tied to new guidance. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta will log employees’ keystrokes/mouse activity to train AI have sparked privacy and employee‑relations concerns — potential PR, morale and regulatory risks that could attract scrutiny. Employee tracking
• Negative Sentiment: The Consumer Federation of America filed a class-action alleging Meta profited from scam ads and misled users — fresh litigation risk that could increase legal costs and reputational pressure. CFA lawsuit

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $674.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $627.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $650.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $516.52 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

About Meta Platforms

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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