Weiss Asset Management LP Acquires New Stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,021 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBAY. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 894.2% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 517 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in eBay in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in eBay in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in eBay in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of eBay by 86.3% during 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 in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EBAY has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of eBay from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on eBay from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised eBay from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on eBay from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on eBay from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.87.

eBay Stock Performance

EBAY stock opened at $63.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. eBay Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.16 and a 12 month high of $67.80.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. eBay’s payout ratio is 27.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In other eBay news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.09, for a total transaction of $371,756.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 559,291 shares in the company, valued at $36,963,542.19. This trade represents a 1.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $77,757.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,336,213.77. The trade was a 1.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,641 shares of company stock worth $3,370,974 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.