Patton Fund Management Inc. Invests $5.34 Million in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 78,877 shares of the e-commerce company's stock, valued at approximately $5,342,000. eBay accounts for approximately 1.3% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in eBay by 56.3% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,508 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of eBay by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 153,568 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $10,401,000 after acquiring an additional 37,979 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,752 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of eBay by 5.1% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 563,693 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $38,179,000 after acquiring an additional 27,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC grew its holdings in eBay by 0.5% in the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 34,160 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at eBay

In related news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 127,070 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.43, for a total transaction of $8,822,470.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 123,282 shares in the company, valued at $8,559,469.26. This represents a 50.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.21, for a total transaction of $77,267.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,946.80. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 292,321 shares of company stock valued at $20,606,770 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

eBay Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of EBAY traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.40. The company had a trading volume of 5,040,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,987,271. The stock has a market cap of $35.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50 day moving average price is $70.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. eBay Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.72 and a 52 week high of $79.84.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. eBay had a return on equity of 30.97% and a net margin of 19.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. eBay's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. eBay's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EBAY. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on eBay from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of America cut their price objective on eBay from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on eBay from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of eBay from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, eBay currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.73.

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.