Sigma Planning Corp Invests $952,000 in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,059 shares of the e-commerce company's stock, valued at approximately $952,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,493,042 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $1,765,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,149,934 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 25.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,032,336 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $435,665,000 after purchasing an additional 245,624 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,809,265 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $421,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,292 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,834,195 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $361,428,000 after purchasing an additional 386,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 127,070 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.43, for a total transaction of $8,822,470.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 123,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,559,469.26. This represents a 50.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 12,644 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.06, for a total value of $999,634.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 325,053 shares in the company, valued at $25,698,690.18. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 347,222 shares of company stock worth $25,143,522. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on eBay from $80.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on eBay from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp raised eBay to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on eBay from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on eBay from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, eBay presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.12.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY traded up $1.35 on Friday, hitting $78.14. The company had a trading volume of 6,744,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,065,884. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. eBay Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.10 and a 52-week high of $79.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.96 and a 200 day moving average of $69.34. The company has a market cap of $36.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.26.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. eBay had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 19.78%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. eBay's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.62%.

About eBay

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.