eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on eBay from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays set a $72.00 target price on shares of eBay and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of eBay from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on eBay from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of eBay in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, eBay currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.54.

eBay Price Performance

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $67.80 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. eBay has a 12-month low of $48.52 and a 12-month high of $71.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45.

eBay Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other eBay news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.25, for a total value of $378,281.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 530,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,709,615.50. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $265,423.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,329,927.52. The trade was a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,241 shares of company stock worth $1,061,665 in the last three months. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On eBay

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,493,042 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $1,765,148,000 after acquiring an additional 3,149,934 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in eBay by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 11,178,638 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $692,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277,839 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in eBay by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,151,026 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $573,220,000 after purchasing an additional 335,035 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of eBay by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,032,336 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $435,665,000 after purchasing an additional 245,624 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in eBay by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,809,265 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $421,834,000 after buying an additional 1,030,292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.48% 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.