Wright Investors Service Inc. Makes New $861,000 Investment in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Wright Investors Service Inc. bought a new position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,731 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of eBay by 39.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,534,030 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of eBay by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 48,038,931 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $2,131,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,766 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of eBay by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $254,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,485 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of eBay by 82.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,118,490 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $138,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in eBay in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,018,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of EBAY stock opened at $49.95 on Friday. eBay Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.17 and a 1-year high of $52.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.07 and its 200 day moving average is $44.20. The company has a market cap of $25.87 billion, a P/E 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 current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 2.44.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on EBAY. Truist Financial upped their price target on eBay from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna raised their price target on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.21.

Insider Transactions at eBay

In other news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $50,129.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.