Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Stock Holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 316,980 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 102,460 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.06% of eBay worth $13,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in eBay by 39.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $547,516,000 after buying an additional 3,534,030 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in eBay by 2.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 289,071 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in eBay by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,182,095 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $360,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,089 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in eBay by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,979,291 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $307,717,000 after acquiring an additional 209,695 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in eBay by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $254,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy 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 $49.21.

Insider Activity at eBay

In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

eBay Stock Performance

EBAY opened at $51.25 on Wednesday. eBay Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.17 and a 12-month high of $52.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.38.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. eBay had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 29.16%. eBay’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that eBay Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.69%.

eBay announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the e-commerce company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.