8,630 Shares in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Purchased by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,630 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in eBay by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $547,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534,030 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of eBay by 2.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 11,167,875 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $495,407,000 after purchasing an additional 289,071 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of eBay by 16.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,182,095 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $360,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,089 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 3.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,979,291 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $307,717,000 after buying an additional 209,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in eBay by 34.3% in 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 period. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EBAY shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on eBay from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on eBay in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of eBay in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, eBay presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.45.

eBay Price Performance

NASDAQ EBAY opened at $49.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. eBay Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.17 and a 52-week high of $52.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.92. The stock has a market cap of $24.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. eBay had a net margin of 25.97% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that eBay Inc. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.51%.

eBay declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication 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 that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $50,129.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by 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.