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

Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) recently bought shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. NASDAQ: META. In a filing disclosed on April 16th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Meta Platforms stock on March 3rd. The trade occurred in the Representative's "FISHER IRA" account.

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

• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne OTCMKTS: LVMUY on 4/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Sony Group NYSE: SONY on 3/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group NYSE: MUFG on 3/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of BP NYSE: BP on 3/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Procter & Gamble NYSE: PG on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Medtronic NYSE: MDT on 3/20/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of ASML NASDAQ: ASML on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Visa NYSE: V on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Broadcom NASDAQ: AVGO on 3/20/2025.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ META traded up $10.73 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $495.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,703,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,755,214. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $603.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $606.43. 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 company has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,087,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $82,314,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. Brueske Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,908,382,000 after purchasing an additional 110,040 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 378,583 shares of company stock valued at $259,991,992 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $786.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $681.67.

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.

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.