Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $2.39 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 92.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,259 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 40,923 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 948.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 1,124,998 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Pivotal Research lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.44.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $634.94, for a total value of $587,954.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,642,833.78. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 161,446 shares of company stock worth $103,451,688 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $638.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $653.98 and its 200-day moving average is $678.88. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast 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. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

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.