Franklin Resources Inc. Has $47.24 Million Stock Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,082,957 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 175,472 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.21% of eBay worth $47,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in eBay by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,774 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 6,258 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding S.A. lifted its position in eBay by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding S.A. now owns 461,116 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $20,114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in eBay during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,076,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in eBay by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,041,540 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $45,432,000 after acquiring an additional 169,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in eBay by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 724,649 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $31,609,000 after acquiring an additional 288,964 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on EBAY. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of eBay from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of eBay from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.45.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $54.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.47 and its 200-day moving average is $46.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. eBay Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.17 and a 52 week high of $54.59.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. eBay had a net margin of 25.97% and a return on equity of 29.11%. eBay’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.51%.

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

Insider Transactions at eBay

In related news, SVP Marie Oh Huber sold 49,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.63, for a total value of $2,435,344.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 177,391 shares in the company, valued at $8,803,915.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company 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.