Rep. Jefferson Shreve Sells Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Representative Jefferson Shreve (R-Indiana) recently sold shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. NASDAQ: META. In a filing disclosed on May 08th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $100,001 and $250,000 in Meta Platforms stock on April 7th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "CRT - STANDARD UNIT TRUST" account.

Representative Jefferson Shreve also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $50,001 - $100,000 in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill NYSE: CMG on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $50,001 - $100,000 in shares of Applied Materials NASDAQ: AMAT on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Caterpillar NYSE: CAT on 4/17/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Lululemon Athletica NASDAQ: LULU on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Western Digital NASDAQ: WDC on 4/17/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Zoetis NYSE: ZTS on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Stryker NYSE: SYK on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of NextEra Energy NYSE: NEE on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of CSX NASDAQ: CSX on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Ross Stores NASDAQ: ROST on 4/17/2025.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 6.6%

Shares of META stock traded up $38.84 on Monday, hitting $631.33. The stock had a trading volume of 6,191,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,440,657. The company's 50 day moving average price is $568.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $604.75. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of META. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,928,185,000 after buying an additional 204,412 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,939,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 488 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Sterneck Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterneck Capital Management LLC now owns 7,391 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,327,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 7,057 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 119,894 shares of company stock worth $83,475,065. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $696.45.

About Representative Shreve

Jefferson Shreve (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Indiana's 6th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Shreve (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Indiana's 6th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography. Jefferson Shreve earned a bachelor's degree from Indiana University in 1989, a graduate degree from the University of London in 1998, and a graduate degree from Purdue University in 2003. Shreve's career experience includes working as a real estate executive. Shreve was elected 7th District Vice Chairman of the Indiana Republican State Committee on January 17, 2018, and was re-elected on March 6, 2021. In 2020, he was selected as a district-level delegate to the 2020 Republican National Convention.

About Meta Platforms

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.