Wesbanco Bank Inc. Has $55.86 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its Meta Platforms stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 84,617 shares valued at about $55.86 million. Meta is now Wesbanco’s 9th-largest holding and makes up roughly 1.5% of its portfolio.
• Meta recently delivered a strong earnings report, posting $10.44 EPS versus estimates of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, both ahead of expectations. Quarterly revenue also rose 33.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $840.31, though one analyst recently downgraded the stock to hold. Institutional ownership remains high at 79.91%.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,617 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.5% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $55,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $614.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $622.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $639.94. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current year.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square continues to hold Meta alongside other megacap AI leaders, reinforcing the view that META remains a core long-term AI and digital ads name. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Google. Is Ackman's Hedge Fund Just a Mag 7 Play?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point out that Meta’s latest earnings beat was strong, with faster revenue growth and better-than-expected EPS, which supports the bull case despite recent volatility. Meta Platforms Stock Performance
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is getting attention as one of the most-watched stocks on Zacks, suggesting investors are closely focused on what comes next for AI spending, ad growth, and margins. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is still a key part of the AI trade, but commentary about an AI bubble and crowded megacap positioning is keeping sentiment cautious around the stock. UBS warns AI stocks are overheating as growth expectations collide with history
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s CFO said 2026 capital expenditures are expected to keep rising, intensifying concerns that heavy AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and near-term profitability. Money Pit? Zuckerberg Just Exposed Why Hyperscaler AI Spending Keeps Going Up
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing fresh legal and regulatory pressure, including a New Mexico youth-safety trial, an Italian lawsuit over minors’ social media use, and a California suit tied to AI scam ads and advertising practices. Meta and Google fund US kids' groups, as critics warn of social media risk
• Negative Sentiment: Some fund managers trimmed META holdings, which may add to near-term caution even though other investors increased exposure. ARK Investment’s Cathie Wood Cuts Meta Platforms Stake Sharply

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 160,352 shares of company stock worth $102,559,436 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.