Smead Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in eBay Inc. $EBAY

Smead Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,032,886 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 140,849 shares during the period. eBay makes up approximately 3.7% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in eBay were worth $177,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in eBay by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,613,332 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $5,018,121,000 after buying an additional 468,833 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in eBay by 27.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 8,309,698 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $755,767,000 after buying an additional 1,808,976 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in eBay by 2.8% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,263,191 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $478,687,000 after buying an additional 141,057 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in eBay by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,134,733 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $273,035,000 after buying an additional 321,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in eBay by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,931,042 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $255,294,000 after buying an additional 113,553 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Trading Down 1.2%

eBay stock opened at $115.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. eBay Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.53 and a 12 month high of $119.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.57. The firm has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.39.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. eBay had a return on equity of 46.11% and a net margin of 17.58%.The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. eBay has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.090-1.140 EPS. Analysts anticipate that eBay Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on EBAY. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on eBay from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on eBay from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna upped their target price on eBay from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on eBay from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on eBay from $120.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.90.

Key Headlines Impacting eBay

Here are the key news stories impacting eBay this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GameStop raised its economic exposure to eBay through derivatives and filings, increasing speculation that Ryan Cohen may push for a takeover or activist campaign that could unlock value for EBAY shareholders. GameStop Raises Economic Exposure to eBay
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that GameStop is interested in buying eBay helped lift sentiment, as takeover speculation can boost a stock on expectations of a higher offer price or strategic restructuring. eBay (EBAY) Stock Is Up, What You Need To Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage are debating whether Ryan Cohen should be taken seriously as an eBay investor, adding attention but not yet confirming a formal deal or major operating change. Should Ryan Cohen be taken seriously as an eBay investor?
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted eBay’s recent surge to 52-week highs, suggesting the stock has already priced in some of the takeover-related optimism. Why did ARM, SLS, EBAY stocks surge to 52-week highs?
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary warned that a GameStop bid could damage its own credit rating and valuation, which may temper enthusiasm if the takeover thesis becomes less credible or more complicated. GameStop Wants to Buy eBay. It Could Collapse Its Credit Rating and Valuation in the Process.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jordan Douglas Bradle Sweetnam sold 12,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.44, for a total transaction of $1,199,686.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,970,113.12. This represents a 23.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 21,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total value of $2,044,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 352,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,337,822.61. The trade was a 5.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,953 shares of company stock valued at $8,287,444. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

eBay Company Profile

eBay Inc is a global e-commerce company that operates an online marketplace connecting individual consumers and businesses for the sale and purchase of new, used and collectible goods. Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar and headquartered in San Jose, California, eBay grew from its early auction-style site into a diversified platform offering both auction-format listings and fixed-price “Buy It Now” transactions. The company completed an initial public offering in the late 1990s and has since evolved its platform and services to support a broad range of product categories and buyer preferences.

The company’s core business centers on its marketplace platform, which provides listing, search and transaction capabilities for millions of items across consumer goods, electronics, fashion, collectibles and more.