Rep. Robert Bresnahan, Jr. Sells Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. (R-Pennsylvania) recently sold shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). In a filing disclosed on February 13th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Meta Platforms stock on January 29th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “JP MORGAN BROKERAGE ACCOUNT #2” account.

Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) on 2/7/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) on 2/3/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) on 2/3/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) on 2/3/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) on 1/30/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 1/30/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) on 1/29/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 1/29/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ:MANH) on 1/29/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO) on 1/29/2025.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $8.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $736.67. The stock had a trading volume of 16,880,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,161,075. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $638.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $582.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price target (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $717.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,644 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.55, for a total value of $10,320,386.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,888,979.95. This trade represents a 28.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 793,070 shares of company stock worth $504,185,108. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Representative Bresnahan

Rob Bresnahan Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Bresnahan (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Rob Bresnahan Jr. was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He earned a B.S. in business administration, management and operations from the University of Scranton in 2012. His career experience includes working as the chief financial officer and CEO of a family business, an electrical contracting 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.