eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $57.00 to $65.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. eBay traded as high as $64.99 and last traded at $64.97, with a volume of 1031392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.45.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of eBay from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut eBay from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of eBay in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.29.

Insider Transactions at eBay

In other eBay news, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.61, for a total value of $256,760.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 70,113 shares in the company, valued at $4,530,000.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other eBay news, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.61, for a total value of $256,760.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 70,113 shares in the company, valued at $4,530,000.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 25,000 shares of eBay stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total value of $1,597,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,918.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On eBay

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBAY. Norges Bank bought a new position in eBay during the 4th quarter worth about $53,019,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in eBay by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,774 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 6,258 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in eBay by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 234,235 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $10,217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association boosted its position in eBay by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 14,403 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 2,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of eBay by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 962,160 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $41,970,000 after acquiring an additional 22,337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Stock Up 2.8 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $32.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.32.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The e-commerce company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.88. eBay had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 29.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. eBay’s payout ratio is presently 21.51%.

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.