MetLife Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 127,450 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 7,515 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $8,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of eBay during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of eBay by 894.2% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 517 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in eBay during the first quarter worth $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in eBay in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in eBay by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 613 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.61, for a total value of $256,760.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 70,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,530,000.93. The trade was a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total transaction of $1,597,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,918.12. This represents a 26.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,016 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,417 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $64.31 on Friday. eBay Inc. has a one year low of $40.16 and a one year high of $67.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.26.

eBay Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. eBay’s payout ratio is 27.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EBAY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on eBay from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of eBay from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on eBay from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on eBay from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, eBay currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.87.

eBay 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.