Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Acquires 14,700 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 87.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,500 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,700 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s holdings in eBay were worth $2,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EBAY. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 50,904 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $3,154,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in eBay in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,805,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in eBay by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 53,089 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $3,596,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 210.2% during the 4th quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 238,132 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $14,752,000 after buying an additional 161,372 shares during the period. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of eBay during the 4th quarter valued at $324,000. 87.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EBAY shares. Daiwa America raised shares of eBay from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Susquehanna lifted their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of eBay in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of eBay to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In related news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 92,895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $6,694,013.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 123,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,883,700.92. The trade was a 42.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 2,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.67, for a total transaction of $234,829.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 92,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,241,809.51. The trade was a 3.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 347,222 shares of company stock worth $25,143,522. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY traded up $1.35 on Friday, hitting $78.14. 6,744,529 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,065,884. The company's 50 day moving average price is $75.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.45. eBay Inc. has a one year low of $53.10 and a one year high of $79.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.26.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. eBay had a net margin of 19.78% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. eBay's payout ratio is 27.62%.

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.