Rep. Josh Gottheimer Sells Off Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) recently sold shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). In a filing disclosed on November 06th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Meta Platforms stock on October 17th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1” account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Texas Capital Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBI) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ITT (NYSE:ITT) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) on 10/31/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) on 10/31/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Techtronic Industries (OTCMKTS:TTNDY) on 10/29/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Techtronic Industries (OTCMKTS:TTNDY) on 10/28/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Disco (OTCMKTS:DSCSY) on 10/28/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Enerpac Tool Group (NYSE:EPAC) on 10/25/2024.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.4 %

META stock opened at $591.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $560.42 and a 200-day moving average of $515.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $313.66 and a fifty-two week high of $602.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.89, for a total transaction of $8,599,692.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 89,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,302,513.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at $19,197,043.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.89, for a total value of $8,599,692.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,302,513.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 228,118 shares of company stock valued at $121,237,935. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $235,872,000 after purchasing an additional 5,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,790 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,504 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2024 election. Gottheimer was first elected to the House in 2016. Prior to his election, Gottheimer worked for Microsoft, the Federal Communications Commission, and for the administration of President Bill Clinton (D). Click here for more information about Gottheimer’s career. Gottheimer serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where is a member of three subcommittees. For more on Gottheimer’s committee assignments, click here. Gottheimer became a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in February 2017. Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

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.