Sentry Investment Management LLC Trims Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,790 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EBAY. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of eBay by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 52,004 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after buying an additional 2,144 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of eBay by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 28,563 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of eBay during the fourth quarter valued at $1,370,000. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 48,117 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 5,161 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on EBAY. Barclays raised their target price on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.21.

eBay Price Performance

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $49.45 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.16. The firm has a market cap of $25.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.33. eBay Inc. has a one year low of $37.17 and a one year 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.

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

eBay Increases Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity at eBay

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

eBay Company Profile

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.