Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 5,166 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. has increased its stake in eBay Inc. by 25.4%, purchasing an additional 5,166 shares to reach a total of 25,502 shares valued at approximately $1,727,000.
• eBay reported a quarterly EPS of $1.37, surpassing the expected $1.30, with revenue also exceeding estimates at $2.73 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, representing a 1.3% yield, with the dividend scheduled to be paid on September 12th.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 25.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,502 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,166 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in eBay were worth $1,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 12.4% in the 4th 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 raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 25.6% in 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 3.6% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in eBay by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,809,265 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $421,834,000 after buying an additional 1,030,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in eBay by 7.1% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 386,568 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY stock opened at $91.75 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.49. The company has a market capitalization of $42.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.26. eBay Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.74 and a 52-week high of $92.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.07. eBay had a net margin of 20.86% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. eBay's dividend payout ratio is 25.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on EBAY. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of eBay from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of eBay from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of eBay from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of eBay from $66.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.73.

Insider Activity

In other eBay news, SVP Jordan Douglas Bradle Sweetnam sold 22,206 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $1,729,847.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 10,974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total transaction of $831,280.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 306,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,228,813.25. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 337,222 shares of company stock valued at $24,463,922. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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