Novem Group Takes $3.05 Million Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Novem Group bought a new stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 49,268 shares of the e-commerce company's stock, valued at approximately $3,052,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in eBay by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,776 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in eBay by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,340 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in eBay by 169.9% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,302 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 5,855 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in eBay by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,984 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of eBay by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,245 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

eBay Stock Performance

EBAY traded down $0.23 on Monday, hitting $71.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,562,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,975,230. The company's fifty day moving average price is $67.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. eBay Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.38 and a 1-year high of $72.94. The stock has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30.

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

eBay Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. eBay's payout ratio is 27.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 28,060 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.82, for a total transaction of $1,903,029.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,413,725.60. This trade represents a 30.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $265,423.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 280,650 shares of company stock worth $19,637,729. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EBAY. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on eBay from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on eBay from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded eBay from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. 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. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on eBay from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.42.

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.