Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Unloaded Rep. Julie Johnson

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). In a filing disclosed on May 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $15,001 and $50,000 in Meta Platforms stock on April 7th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH LONG TERM GROWTH” account.

Representative Julie Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) on 4/30/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) on 4/22/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) on 4/22/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) on 4/15/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) on 4/11/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) on 4/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of DT Midstream (NYSE:DTM) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Carlisle Companies (NYSE:CSL) on 4/7/2025.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:META opened at $643.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $570.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $606.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valley Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $696.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms 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 transaction of $13,830,734.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 81,171 shares of company stock valued at $55,161,016 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Representative Johnson

Julie Johnson (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Julie Johnson earned a B.A. in history and government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1991. Johnson’s career experience includes working as an attorney.

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.