Cullen Investment Group LTD. Invests $208,000 in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,761 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of eBay by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 48,038,931 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $2,131,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,766 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of eBay by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,068,197 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,023,530,000 after purchasing an additional 122,838 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in eBay by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,666,600 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $516,516,000 after acquiring an additional 74,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of eBay by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 11,167,875 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $495,407,000 after purchasing an additional 289,071 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

eBay Stock Performance

EBAY opened at $50.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.33. eBay Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.17 and a 52-week high of $52.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.77 and its 200-day moving average is $44.12.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. eBay’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that eBay Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This is a positive change from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.69%.

eBay declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the e-commerce company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EBAY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on eBay in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price objective on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.21.

Insider Activity at eBay

In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.