Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management increased its Meta stake by 9.4% in the second quarter, adding 64,869 shares to hold 757,472 shares valued at approximately $426.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own nearly 80% of Meta’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $788.88, despite several firms recently lowering their targets. Meta’s shares opened at $673.31, while the company reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth but missed quarterly EPS expectations.
• Meta declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing a 0.3% annualized yield, while insiders have sold about $37.7 million of stock over the past 90 days under pre-arranged trading plans.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 757,472 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 64,869 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $426,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 51,291 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,892,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 792.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,867 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,685,000 after buying an additional 10,538 shares during the last quarter. Farringdon Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.0% during the second quarter. Farringdon Capital Ltd. now owns 5,377 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, George Kaiser Family Foundation raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 432.5% in the 2nd quarter. George Kaiser Family Foundation now owns 3,653 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,058,000 after acquiring an additional 2,967 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $788.88.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $673.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $790.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $605.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $609.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total value of $13,005,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at $159,003,864.48. The trade was a 7.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 61,758 shares of company stock worth $37,709,420 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI subscriptions create a potential new revenue stream. Meta launched Meta One subscription tiers offering expanded access to AI tools and premium features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The company says the program has reached 15 million subscriptions and trials, supporting the case that Meta can generate recurring revenue beyond advertising. Reuters article on Meta One subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish. Rosenblatt reaffirmed a Buy rating with an $886 price target, while JPMorgan highlighted improving AI monetization and better advertising performance. Citi also said next week’s developers conference could provide a catalyst if Meta unveils compelling AI and hardware updates. Citi commentary on Meta’s upcoming event
• Positive Sentiment: New hardware and infrastructure initiatives could broaden Meta’s AI ecosystem. Meta reportedly plans to launch camera-free smart glasses this fall, while expanded use of proprietary AI chips could reduce reliance on Nvidia and potentially lower computing costs. Reuters article on camera-free smart glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is defending a faster, company-led AI development strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta delayed its Muse AI agent to address safety concerns but opposed broad development slowdowns, favoring independent evaluators and internal safeguards.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. BMO identified expanding age-verification requirements as a potential challenge, while new restrictions on youth-oriented advertising practices could increase Meta’s legal and compliance costs. Investors are also watching the company’s large AI infrastructure commitments, which could pressure free cash flow if advertising growth or AI utilization disappoints.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling adds a limited cautionary signal. COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth roughly $1.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transactions reduce his holdings but do not necessarily indicate a change in management’s outlook.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

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