GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 7,928.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 841,748 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after purchasing an additional 831,263 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.18% of eBay worth $57,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in eBay by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,493,042 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $1,765,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,149,934 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in 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 worth $692,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277,839 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in eBay by 304.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,105,270 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $130,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584,404 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in eBay in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,214,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in eBay by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,856,276 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $362,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524,691 shares during the period. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on EBAY shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on eBay from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Daiwa America raised shares of eBay from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of eBay from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.65.

eBay Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:EBAY traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.79. 1,206,198 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,960,216. The firm's fifty day moving average is $68.52 and its 200-day moving average is $66.62. eBay Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.72 and a 12-month high of $78.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. eBay had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 30.97%. The business's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. eBay's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $265,423.48. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 28,060 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,413,725.60. This represents a 30.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 280,650 shares of company stock valued at $19,637,729. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.