Mirova US LLC Lowers Stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Mirova US LLC trimmed its stake in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,141,027 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 57,988 shares during the quarter. eBay makes up 6.0% of Mirova US LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Mirova US LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $398,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EBAY. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in eBay by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 522,123 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $22,775,000 after buying an additional 142,002 shares in the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,233 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 52,004 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 28,563 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

eBay Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of eBay stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,224,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,452,842. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.77 and a 200 day moving average of $44.12. eBay Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.17 and a 52-week high of $52.93.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the e-commerce company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

eBay Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on EBAY. Susquehanna upped their price target on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.21.

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.