eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Shares Bought by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,481 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of eBay by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $547,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534,030 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in eBay by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 11,167,875 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $495,407,000 after purchasing an additional 289,071 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of eBay by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,182,095 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $360,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,089 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,979,291 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $307,717,000 after purchasing an additional 209,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in eBay by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $254,712,000 after buying an additional 1,491,485 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on eBay from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna increased their target price on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of eBay in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, eBay currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

eBay Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of eBay stock opened at $52.02 on Friday. eBay Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.17 and a fifty-two week high of $52.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.11 and a 200 day moving average of $44.54.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.04. eBay had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 29.16%. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. eBay’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.69%.

eBay announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the e-commerce company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About eBay

eBay Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates marketplace platforms that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, and internationally. The company's marketplace platform includes its online marketplace at ebay.com, off-platform businesses, and the eBay suite of mobile apps.