Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,314 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after selling 3,807 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in eBay were worth $3,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 594,161 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $38,686,000 after acquiring an additional 9,990 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in eBay by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,580 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $3,489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in eBay during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of eBay by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,468 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of eBay by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 103,857 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $6,434,000 after purchasing an additional 4,243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other eBay news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.21, for a total value of $77,267.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,946.80. This trade represents a 1.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $265,423.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,329,927.52. The trade was a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,685 shares of company stock valued at $4,121,245. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on EBAY. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on eBay from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded eBay from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on eBay from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.32.

eBay Stock Performance

eBay stock opened at $69.51 on Friday. eBay Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.02 and a twelve month high of $71.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $32.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day moving average is $66.25 and its 200 day moving average is $65.21.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. eBay had a return on equity of 30.97% and a net margin of 19.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. eBay's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.62%.

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.

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