Rep. Julia Letlow Buys Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Representative Julia Letlow (Republican-Louisiana) recently bought shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). In a filing disclosed on March 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Meta Platforms stock on February 12th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH INVESTMENT ACCOUNT #025” account.

Representative Julia Letlow also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of HF Sinclair (NYSE:DINO) on 2/20/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BXP (NYSE:BXP) on 2/20/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) on 2/20/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) on 2/17/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) on 2/17/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) on 2/17/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) on 2/12/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR) on 2/12/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) on 2/12/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) on 2/12/2026.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.8%

Meta Platforms stock traded up $4.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $597.43. 3,414,222 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,755,157. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $647.70 and its 200-day moving average is $670.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldstone Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.8% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $130,467,000 after purchasing an additional 38,432 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 34.2% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares during the period. Cherokee Insurance Co acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $3,321,000. Finally, Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on META. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $846.63.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to bulk up AI talent and leadership — it has hired the Dreamer team (including Hugo Barra) to scale personalized AI agents and is placing CTO Andrew Bosworth in charge of rolling AI tools across the company, supporting product development and productivity gains. Meta Recruits Dreamer Team to Scale Personalized AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is partnering on AI infrastructure — Arm launched its first in-house AGI CPU with Meta as the launch customer, which could lower long‑term costs and improve performance for Meta’s data‑center AI workloads. Arm launches first own-brand chip with Meta as launch customer
• Positive Sentiment: Retention and incentive moves aim to lock in AI leadership — Meta granted senior executives stock awards and long‑dated options tied to very aggressive market‑cap/single‑price targets (reports say programs hinge on a $9T valuation by 2031). That reduces near‑term turnover risk for key AI builders but sets steep performance hurdles. Meta grants senior executives stock awards to retain talent
• Neutral Sentiment: Workforce actions and cost management: some employees were told to work remotely ahead of layoffs in wearables and ads — this signals potential restructuring and cost cutting that could help margins but also points to execution/organizing risks. Some Meta employees were told to work remotely for the day as layoffs loom
• Negative Sentiment: Legal hit: a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding it endangered children and misled consumers — this is a tangible financial penalty and raises the prospect of further state‑level rulings, reputational damage and higher compliance/legal costs. Meta Ordered to Pay $375 Million Over Child Safety Violations
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory review of Manus deal: Chinese authorities have restricted Manus co‑founders from leaving China while reviewing Meta’s ~$2B acquisition, creating execution risk and potential delays or conditions on a strategic AI purchase. China restricts Manus co-founders from leaving amid review of Meta Platforms deal, FT reports
• Negative Sentiment: Broader regulatory scrutiny: EU antitrust officials and other regulators are meeting Big Tech leaders amid concerns about market power in AI, which increases policy risk for Meta’s AI expansion and potential future restrictions or fines. EU antitrust chief meets Google, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon CEOs amidst AI scrutiny

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $585,250.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,013,237.22. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 160,929 shares of company stock worth $103,074,540 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Letlow

Julia Letlow (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. She assumed office on April 14, 2021. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Letlow (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on November 3, 2026.

Julia Letlow earned a doctorate. Letlow’s career experience includes working as a senior administrator with the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.