Rep. Bruce Westerman Sells Off Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) recently sold shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. NASDAQ: META. In a filing disclosed on May 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Meta Platforms stock on April 21st. The trade occurred in the Representative's "FISHER IRA" account.

Representative Bruce Westerman also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of UniCredit OTCMKTS: UNCRY on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of CSX NASDAQ: CSX on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Siemens Aktiengesellschaft OTCMKTS: SIEGY on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of GSK NYSE: GSK on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Charles Schwab NYSE: SCHW on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group NYSE: GS on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Abbott Laboratories NYSE: ABT on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Eli Lilly and Company NYSE: LLY on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Chevron NYSE: CVX on 4/21/2025.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.5%

META traded down $3.54 on Friday, reaching $640.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,351,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,546,315. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $571.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $606.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total value of $13,830,734.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total transaction of $447,530.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,270,899.46. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,852 shares of company stock worth $41,665,958. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.2% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 575,881 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $331,915,000 after acquiring an additional 33,708 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 652,529 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $376,092,000 after acquiring an additional 7,986 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 94,888 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $54,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the period. AAF Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. AAF Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

About Representative Westerman

Bruce Westerman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Arkansas' 4th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2015. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Westerman (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Arkansas' 4th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Westerman earned his BSBAGE in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1990 and his MF in forestry from Yale University in 2001. His professional experience includes working as a plant engineer for Riceland Foods and an engineer/forester for Mid-South Engineering Company.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.