Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,790 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of eBay by 9.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,990 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 3,655 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in eBay by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,176 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in eBay by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 461,862 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $26,460,000 after buying an additional 118,952 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its position in shares of eBay by 6.2% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 223,976 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $12,825,000 after buying an additional 13,127 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 17.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,715 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of EBAY stock opened at $49.45 on Thursday. 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 cap of $25.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $48.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.16. eBay Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.17 and a fifty-two week high of $52.93.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.04. eBay had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 29.16%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that eBay Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. This is a boost from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. eBay’s payout ratio is presently 20.69%.

eBay announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the e-commerce company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on EBAY. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of eBay from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, eBay presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.