Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Stock Price

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $80.00 to $79.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the e-commerce company's stock.

EBAY has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of eBay from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on eBay from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on eBay from $71.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut eBay from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.83.

eBay Trading Up 1.5 %

EBAY stock traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.31. 3,527,054 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,964,032. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.99 and a 200-day moving average of $64.96. eBay has a 52-week low of $48.52 and a 52-week high of $71.61.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from eBay's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. eBay's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other eBay news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.25, for a total transaction of $378,281.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 530,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,709,615.50. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $265,423.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,329,927.52. This represents a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,310 shares of company stock worth $3,121,626 in the last quarter. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in eBay by 2,536.5% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,535,290 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $239,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401,198 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in eBay by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,493,042 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $1,765,148,000 after buying an additional 3,149,934 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in 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 valued at $692,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277,839 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in eBay by 304.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,105,270 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $130,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the 4th quarter worth about $96,214,000. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.