Wright Investors Service Inc. Decreases Stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,255 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 4,833 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in eBay were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in eBay by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,964,196 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $1,394,797,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880,649 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in eBay by 3.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in eBay by 8.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,723,503 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $361,159,000 after buying an additional 530,941 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in eBay by 11.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,573,579 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $353,133,000 after buying an additional 679,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in eBay by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,447,627 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $354,695,000 after buying an additional 216,162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBAY opened at $65.72 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.35. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.16 and a 52-week high of $71.52.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. eBay’s payout ratio is presently 27.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on eBay from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of eBay in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of eBay from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on eBay from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total value of $336,993.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 548,042 shares in the company, valued at $32,833,196.22. This represents a 1.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $77,757.21. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,079 shares in the company, valued at $4,336,213.77. This represents a 1.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,283 shares of company stock valued at $1,715,462. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.