Prudential PLC Acquires 17,301 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in eBay Inc. by 26.9% during the first quarter, now holding 81,547 shares valued at approximately $5.5 million.
• eBay reported $1.37 EPS in its latest quarterly earnings, exceeding estimates by $0.07 and showing 6.1% year-over-year growth in revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, which will be paid on September 12th, representing an annualized dividend of $1.16 with a yield of 1.2%.

Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,547 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,301 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in eBay were worth $5,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in eBay in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in eBay in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in eBay during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other eBay news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 92,895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $6,694,013.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 123,282 shares in the company, valued at $8,883,700.92. This represents a 42.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 12,644 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.02, for a total value of $961,196.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 317,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,145,852.50. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 276,104 shares of company stock valued at $22,025,676 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EBAY. Arete Research upgraded eBay from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of eBay in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of eBay from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of eBay from $66.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.19.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBAY traded up $2.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $100.70. The company had a trading volume of 6,130,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,987,007. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. eBay Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.80 and a 1 year high of $101.15. The company has a market capitalization of $46.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $81.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.80.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.64 billion. eBay had a net margin of 20.86% and a return on equity of 38.97%. eBay's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. eBay's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.55%.

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.