Norges Bank Takes Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 658,672 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,805,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.14% of eBay at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in eBay by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 4,411 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of eBay by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of eBay by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,417 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in eBay by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in eBay by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 34,651 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $2,147,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other eBay news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.25, for a total value of $378,281.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 530,998 shares in the company, valued at $35,709,615.50. The trade was a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $265,423.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,329,927.52. This represents a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,676 shares of company stock valued at $2,613,807. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EBAY has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on eBay from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of eBay from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of eBay from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, eBay has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.46.

eBay Trading Down 6.0 %

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $62.40 on Friday. eBay Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.52 and a 52 week high of $71.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.03. The firm has a market cap of $29.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

eBay 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.