JPMorgan Chase & Co. Begins Coverage on eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $60.00 price objective on the e-commerce company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho upped their price target on eBay from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna increased their target price on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of eBay from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of eBay from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of eBay in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a buy rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $53.71.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of EBAY stock opened at $53.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.47 and a 200-day moving average of $48.24. The company has a market cap of $26.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. eBay has a 52 week low of $37.17 and a 52 week high of $55.35.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a net margin of 25.97% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that eBay will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.51%.

Insider Activity at eBay

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $52,110.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,109.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $52,110.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,109.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Rebecca Spencer sold 2,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.62, for a total value of $111,690.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $220,324.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,558 shares of company stock worth $3,001,254. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 7.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,929,188 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $3,321,403,000 after buying an additional 4,524,934 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in eBay by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $547,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534,030 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of eBay by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,438 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $272,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,288 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of eBay by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $254,712,000 after buying an additional 1,491,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in eBay by 1.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,547,105 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $244,572,000 after buying an additional 60,146 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.