Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 40,923 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Posted by Grant Hamersma on Mar 13th, 2026

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 92.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,259 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 40,923 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $634.94, for a total value of $587,954.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,642,833.78. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 161,446 shares of company stock valued at $103,451,688. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $638.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $653.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $678.88. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled a roadmap for four new in‑house AI chips (MTIA 300/400/450/500) aimed at inference workloads and faster iterative deployments — a long‑term win for gross‑margin control and scalability if Meta can reduce third‑party hardware spend. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
Positive Sentiment: Facebook Marketplace rolled out Meta AI features that auto‑write listings and suggest prices — these product improvements can increase seller throughput and ad/commerce monetization. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded AI‑driven scam detection across Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger, which helps reduce fraud liability and could improve user trust and engagement. Meta Rolls Out New Scam Alerts Across Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger
Positive Sentiment: Investor endorsement: Michael Cuggino cited Meta as an AI pick for its cost discipline — a vote of confidence that may support long‑term investor sentiment. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Evercore flagged that large internet names (including Meta) may be oversold amid AI/geopolitical worries — this could imply a rebound if sentiment stabilizes. Amazon, Uber, and Other Internet Stocks Look Too Cheap After AI and Iran Worries
Neutral Sentiment: Meta acquired Moltbook, a niche social network for AI agents — strategically relevant for agent research but commercially unproven; more of a signal on R&D direction than immediate revenue impact. Meta to acquire Moltbook, the social network for AI agents
Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan reduced holdings in recent SEC filings — such sizable insider disposals can spook short‑term investors even if routine. Insider sale filing
Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: UK regulators and lawmakers are pressing big tech (including Meta) to do more to keep children off platforms — potential for stricter rules or compliance costs in key markets. UK watchdogs press Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube to block children
Negative Sentiment: Public skepticism on costs: Commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) asking why Meta retains ~78k employees if AI boosts productivity raises investor questions about future headcount, restructuring and near‑term cost cuts. Cramer: Why does Meta need 78,000 employees if AI makes them 10x more productive?
Negative Sentiment: Market reaction note: coverage flagged that Meta fell more than the broader market on the latest session — signaling profit‑taking or short‑term risk aversion despite the strategic positives. Here’s Why Meta Platforms (META) Fell More Than Broader Market

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.44.

View Our Latest Analysis on META

Meta Platforms Profile

(Free Report)

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.