eBay Inc. $EBAY Holdings Lessened by M&G PLC

M&G PLC lowered its stake in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 8.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,906,346 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 168,846 shares during the quarter. eBay accounts for about 1.0% of M&G PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. M&G PLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $202,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of eBay by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 10,358 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 5,150 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of eBay by 3.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 44,041 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $4,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in eBay in the third quarter valued at about $6,191,000. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in eBay in the third quarter valued at about $1,802,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in eBay by 1.9% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,458 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about eBay

Here are the key news stories impacting eBay this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks article included eBay among non-tech Nasdaq stocks with improving earnings estimates and growth opportunities, offering a modestly positive investment signal. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Jamie Iannone sold 11,110 shares for about $1.37 million, reducing his direct holding by 5.16%. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it less clearly a signal about the company’s near-term outlook. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: The UK government is considering restricting under-16s’ access to online marketplaces including eBay, citing concerns about contact with strangers. If adopted, the measure could require age-verification changes and limit access to younger users; it remains under consideration, not a finalized ban. Sky News article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EBAY shares. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $115.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of eBay in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Arete Research cut their price target on shares of eBay from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of eBay from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In related news, SVP Jordan Sweetnam sold 1,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.39, for a total transaction of $102,809.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 35,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,604,008.94. This trade represents a 2.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 11,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.98, for a total value of $1,366,307.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 204,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,093,946.02. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,344 shares of company stock worth $3,795,885. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

eBay Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $120.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.30. eBay Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.03 and a twelve month high of $127.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.71.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The e-commerce company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. eBay had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 49.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that eBay Inc. will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.07%.

About eBay

eBay Inc operates a global online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers. Its platform supports both auction-style listings and fixed-price sales across a broad range of categories, including electronics, fashion, collectibles, home goods and auto parts.

Founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 as AuctionWeb, the company adopted the eBay name in 1997. It also provides services and tools for sellers, including advertising, payments and shipping features that support transactions on its marketplace.

eBay serves customers and businesses in markets around the world.