Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold Off Rep. Dan Crenshaw

Key Points

• Rep. Dan Crenshaw disclosed selling Meta Platforms stock on June 1, with the trade reported in a filing on July 16. The sale was for between $1,001 and $15,000.
• Meta’s latest earnings were strong, with EPS of $10.44 beating estimates and revenue of $56.31 billion rising 33.1% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to post 29.46 EPS for the full year.
• The stock continues to attract attention around its AI infrastructure strategy, including reports of possible monetization opportunities and BlackRock’s $12 billion financing for Meta data centers. At the same time, Meta faces some headline risk from legal claims over Instagram and occasional outages.

Representative Dan Crenshaw (Republican-Texas) recently sold shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. NASDAQ: META. In a filing disclosed on July 16th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Meta Platforms stock on June 1st.

Representative Dan Crenshaw also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of United States 3x Oil Fund NYSEARCA: USOU on 6/1/2026.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Amazon.com NASDAQ: AMZN on 6/1/2026.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Apple NASDAQ: AAPL on 6/1/2026.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOG on 6/1/2026.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $645.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company's fifty day moving average price is $604.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $626.63.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,948 shares of company stock valued at $23,184,319. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to beat second-quarter estimates, citing healthy ad demand and AI-related improvements, with Q2 revenue now seen at $60.6 billion and EPS at $7.50 versus consensus of $60.2 billion and $7.18. Meta Platforms expected to top earnings estimates as ad growth remains healthy, says BofA
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by reports that Meta could monetize its AI buildout more directly, including a potential large-scale computing deal with Anthropic, which could help justify its heavy capex and reduce valuation pressure. Zuckerberg Is Quietly Turning Meta Into A Compute Provider Ahead Of Q2 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s $12 billion financing for new Meta data centers in Texas underscores strong outside confidence in Meta’s AI infrastructure strategy and signals continued investment in future capacity. BlackRock Leads $12 Billion Financing for New Meta Data Centers in Texas
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Meta’s expanding AI ambitions and “compute provider” strategy reinforces the bullish AI narrative, but the market is still waiting for proof that the spending will translate into durable returns. Meta's AI Ambitions Keep Expanding. Is META Stock Keeping Up?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta faces a Tennessee trial over claims Instagram was designed to be addictive, adding headline risk and potential legal overhang for the stock. Meta faces Tennessee trial over allegations Instagram was designed to be addictive
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of temporary Facebook and Instagram outages may add near-term frustration for users and advertisers, though the impact appears more operational than fundamental. Users of Meta's Facebook, Instagram report suffering some outages

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $830.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Representative Crenshaw

Daniel Crenshaw (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Texas' 2nd Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2019. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Crenshaw (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 2nd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Crenshaw defeated Todd Litton (D), Patrick Gunnels (L), and Scott Cubbler (Independent) in the general election on November 6, 2018. He advanced to a Republican primary runoff on May 22, 2018, where he defeated Kevin Roberts. The runoff election was called after no candidate won 50 percent of the vote in the Republican primary on March 6, 2018. A retired lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, Crenshaw served in the Navy SEALs for ten years. Prior to running in 2018, Crenshaw had not previously served in elected office. Crenshaw's candidacy received media attention, including an appearance on Fox and Friends. U.S. Reps. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), whom he previously worked for as a military legislative assistant, and Scott Taylor (R-Virg.) endorsed Crenshaw's candidacy. Crenshaw served as a Navy SEAL from 2006 to 2016. He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and lost his right eye in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. He earned a bachelor's degree in international affairs from Tufts University and an M.P.A. from Harvard.

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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