Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 471 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 163,728 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after buying an additional 471 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $10,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in eBay by 12.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,149,934 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its position in eBay by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 11,178,638 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $692,517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277,839 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in eBay by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,032,336 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $435,665,000 after acquiring an additional 245,624 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in eBay by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,809,265 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $421,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in eBay by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,936,508 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $367,767,000 after acquiring an additional 82,904 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other eBay news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 127,070 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.43, for a total transaction of $8,822,470.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 123,282 shares in the company, valued at $8,559,469.26. This represents a 50.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.21, for a total transaction of $77,267.07. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,080 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,946.80. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 187,755 shares of company stock worth $12,943,715 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

eBay Price Performance

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $69.15 on Thursday. eBay Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.02 and a 52 week high of $71.61. The firm has a market cap of $31.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.31. 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 (NASDAQ:EBAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. eBay had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 30.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of eBay in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, eBay currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.42.

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.