Rep. Kelly Morrison Purchases Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Representative Kelly Morrison (D-Minnesota) recently bought shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. NASDAQ: META. In a filing disclosed on April 11th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Meta Platforms stock on March 24th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "TRUST 1" account.

Representative Kelly Morrison also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META on 3/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Broadcom NASDAQ: AVGO on 3/21/2025.
• Sold $100,001 - $250,000 in shares of Target NYSE: TGT on 3/21/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Target NYSE: TGT on 3/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. NYSE: MRK on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of D.R. Horton NYSE: DHI on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of CACI International NYSE: CACI on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of United Parcel Service NYSE: UPS on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Diageo NYSE: DEO on 3/20/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Target NYSE: TGT on 3/3/2025.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2 %

META traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $501.48. The stock had a trading volume of 14,540,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,827,047. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $612.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $607.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. 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 0.42%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $684.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total transaction of $39,897,337.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 379,901 shares of company stock valued at $260,806,516. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

About Representative Morrison

Kelly Morrison (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027. Morrison (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Kelly Morrison was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and lives in Deephaven. Morrison earned a B.A. in history from Yale University and an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University. Morrison's career experience includes working as a physician.

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.