Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 366 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,025 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after buying an additional 366 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in eBay were worth $4,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EBAY. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of eBay in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of eBay in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in eBay during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP bought a new position in eBay in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Price Performance

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $50.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.25. eBay Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.17 and a 52 week high of $52.93. The firm has a market cap of $26.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.44.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.04. The business 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 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the e-commerce company to buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. eBay’s payout ratio is 20.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EBAY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on eBay in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.21.

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.