eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.29 Per Share

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.29 per share by the e-commerce company on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27.

eBay has increased its dividend payment by an average of 14.5% annually over the last three years. eBay has a payout ratio of 18.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect eBay to earn $4.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.7%.

eBay Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ EBAY opened at $69.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $33.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.35. eBay has a 52-week low of $46.53 and a 52-week high of $71.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of eBay from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of eBay from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of eBay from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of eBay from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 5,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.63, for a total transaction of $334,184.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,141,040.40. This represents a 7.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total transaction of $355,556.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 531,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,575,066.07. The trade was a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,746,065 in the last ninety days. Company 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.