Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $280.99 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. has increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 4.0%, owning 487,527 shares valued at approximately $280.99 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Meta Platforms reported strong quarterly earnings with $7.14 EPS and revenue of $47.52 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations for both metrics.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 79.91% of Meta Platforms' shares, reflecting significant confidence in the company's performance.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 487,527 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,620 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $280,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,990,544,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 712.2% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,462,589,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225,186 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,162,918,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,803 shares of company stock valued at $235,276,424. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $754.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $730.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $657.36. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.

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