eBay Inc. $EBAY Stake Cut by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its eBay stake by 48.4% in the third quarter, selling 468,670 shares; it still held 500,502 shares valued at about $53.1 million.
• eBay beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $1.51 per share versus the $1.41 consensus and revenue of $3.21 billion, up 13.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.24 and a 1.0% yield. Analyst views were mixed, with MarketBeat reporting an average “Hold” rating.

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 48.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 500,502 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after selling 468,670 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.11% of eBay worth $53,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EBAY. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in eBay by 3.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 44,041 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $4,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of eBay in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,191,000. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of eBay in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,802,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,458 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 134,371 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $14,250,000 after buying an additional 3,581 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company's stock.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of EBAY opened at $120.97 on Tuesday. eBay Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.03 and a 1-year high of $127.74. The stock has a market cap of $53.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The e-commerce company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. eBay had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 49.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that eBay Inc. will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. eBay's dividend payout ratio is 27.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on EBAY. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of eBay in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on eBay from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Arete Research lowered their price objective on eBay from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Citizens Jmp cut eBay from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore set a $120.00 target price on eBay in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, eBay presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.52.

Key Stories Impacting eBay

Here are the key news stories impacting eBay this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks article included eBay among non-tech Nasdaq stocks with improving earnings estimates and growth opportunities, offering a modestly positive investment signal. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Jamie Iannone sold 11,110 shares for about $1.37 million, reducing his direct holding by 5.16%. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it less clearly a signal about the company’s near-term outlook. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: The UK government is considering restricting under-16s’ access to online marketplaces including eBay, citing concerns about contact with strangers. If adopted, the measure could require age-verification changes and limit access to younger users; it remains under consideration, not a finalized ban. Sky News article

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 11,110 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.98, for a total value of $1,366,307.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 204,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,093,946.02. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jordan Sweetnam sold 1,014 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.39, for a total value of $102,809.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 35,546 shares in the company, valued at $3,604,008.94. This represents a 2.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 34,344 shares of company stock worth $3,795,885 over the last 90 days. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About eBay

eBay Inc operates a global online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers. Its platform supports both auction-style listings and fixed-price sales across a broad range of categories, including electronics, fashion, collectibles, home goods and auto parts.

Founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 as AuctionWeb, the company adopted the eBay name in 1997. It also provides services and tools for sellers, including advertising, payments and shipping features that support transactions on its marketplace.

eBay serves customers and businesses in markets around the world.

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