Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank increased its stake in Meta by 181% in Q4 to 1,078,504 shares (an additional 694,706 shares) valued at about $711.9 million, making Meta ~2.1% of M&T’s portfolio and its 7th largest holding.
• Meta beat Q1 expectations, reporting $10.44 EPS vs. $6.67 expected and $56.31 billion in revenue (up 33.1% year‑over‑year), with management highlighting AI-driven ad momentum.
• Wall Street views are mixed: the consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $840.67, but some firms cut targets over higher CapEx and Reality Labs losses while others (e.g., Jefferies) raised theirs to $1,000, reflecting debate over near‑term costs vs. long‑term AI upside.

M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 181.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,078,504 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 694,706 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.1% of M&T Bank Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $711,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,191,175,000. Concentrum Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 948.7% in the third quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 1,124,998 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 209.3% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 430,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $314,340,000 after buying an additional 824,276 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $540,634,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 167,155 shares of company stock worth $107,067,129. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat & AI ad momentum — Meta reported robust Q1 revenue and EPS, and management highlighted AI-driven ad tools and full‑stack model+chip co‑design that are expanding ad automation and advertiser reach. Meta Does Things Their Own Way
• Positive Sentiment: Robotics/AI talent add — Meta acquired humanoid‑robot startup Assured Robot Intelligence to accelerate robotics model optimization, signaling product diversification in AI/robotics. WSJ: Meta Acquires Assured Robot Intelligence
• Positive Sentiment: Energy and creator initiatives — Meta is signing energy partnerships (space solar/long‑duration storage) to secure power for compute-heavy AI centers and piloting stablecoin creator payouts — moves that support long‑term AI scale and monetization. AI drives growth (context)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — Some firms (e.g., Stifel) trimmed price targets but retained “buy”; others raised targets on longer‑term AI upside. These tweaks sustain divergent Wall Street views on valuation vs. heavy CapEx. Benzinga: Analyst Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed — COO Javier Oliván sold shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan; routine but notable given market noise. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Large CapEx raise spooks investors — Meta lifted 2026 capital expenditure guidance materially (now targeting major AI data‑center buildout), prompting concerns about near‑term free‑cash‑flow and returns; that is the primary reason the stock has been sold. Reuters: CapEx & market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal pressure — Threats to pull apps from New Mexico over child‑safety rules and US senators’ scrutiny over ad removals amplify litigation/compliance risk and potential costs. Reuters: Lawmaker Scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses & deal setbacks — Continued multi‑billion losses in Reality Labs and a blocked Manus acquisition in China highlight near‑term cash drag and execution risks on speculative bets. CNBC: Reality Labs Loss

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $608.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $629.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $647.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

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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