Metis Global Partners LLC Has $1.31 Million Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,081 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 1,347 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $1,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of eBay during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in eBay during the third quarter worth $46,000. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its position in eBay by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 1,175 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in eBay during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of eBay in the third quarter worth about $71,000. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on eBay from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of eBay from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on eBay from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, eBay has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.45.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $49.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. eBay Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.17 and a 1-year high of $52.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.03 and its 200-day moving average is $44.98.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a net margin of 25.97% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. eBay’s payout ratio is currently 21.51%.

eBay announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the e-commerce company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other eBay news, SVP Marie Oh Huber sold 49,070 shares of eBay stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.63, for a total transaction of $2,435,344.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,803,915.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other eBay news, SVP Marie Oh Huber sold 49,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.63, for a total transaction of $2,435,344.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,391 shares in the company, valued at $8,803,915.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $50,129.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.