eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Cut to “Market Perform” at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $65.00 price objective on the e-commerce company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $70.00.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on EBAY. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of eBay from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com downgraded eBay from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Benchmark upped their price objective on eBay from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on eBay from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, eBay currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.83.

eBay Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $67.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. eBay has a 1-year low of $48.52 and a 1-year high of $71.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.09 and a 200 day moving average of $64.98. The firm has a market cap of $31.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

Insider Activity at eBay

In other eBay news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 28,060 shares of eBay stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.82, for a total transaction of $1,903,029.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,413,725.60. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $497,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 590,108 shares in the company, valued at $39,153,665.80. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,310 shares of company stock worth $3,121,626 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in eBay by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,493,042 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,765,148,000 after buying an additional 3,149,934 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 11,178,638 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $692,517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277,839 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of eBay by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,151,026 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $573,220,000 after purchasing an additional 335,035 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in eBay by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,032,336 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $435,665,000 after purchasing an additional 245,624 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in eBay by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,809,265 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $421,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,292 shares during the period. 87.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

eBay Company Profile

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.