19,731 Shares in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Bought by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. acquired a new position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,731 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in eBay in the fourth quarter worth about $1,767,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 604.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 630,956 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $27,522,000 after purchasing an additional 541,384 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in shares of eBay in the 3rd quarter valued at about $798,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $955,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of eBay by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,785,607 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $122,817,000 after buying an additional 43,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ EBAY opened at $49.95 on Friday. eBay Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.17 and a 52 week high of $52.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.20.

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

eBay Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.69%.

eBay declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the e-commerce company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EBAY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on eBay from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on eBay from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.