eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Upgraded at Daiwa Capital Markets

Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $70.00 price objective on the e-commerce company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on EBAY. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on eBay from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on eBay from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of eBay from $80.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of eBay in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, eBay has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.42.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of EBAY opened at $69.15 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.31. eBay has a 12-month low of $51.02 and a 12-month high of $71.61. The firm has a market cap of $31.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. eBay had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 30.97%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that eBay will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other eBay news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.21, for a total transaction of $77,267.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,946.80. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 187,755 shares of company stock worth $12,943,715 in the last ninety days. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,149,934 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in shares of eBay by 4.6% during the first quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 11,689,267 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $791,714,000 after buying an additional 510,629 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in eBay by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,441,396 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $571,736,000 after acquiring an additional 627,823 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of eBay by 4.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,109,481 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $481,525,000 after buying an additional 300,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 valued at $435,665,000 after acquiring an additional 245,624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

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.