Primecap Management Co. CA Trims Stock Holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its holdings in eBay by 2.0% to 2,134,620 shares, valued at approximately $144.58 million, during the first quarter.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded eBay's stock ratings, with BMO Capital Markets raising its target price from $70.00 to $102.00, while the consensus target price is currently set at $77.69.
• eBay reported earnings of $1.37 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.30, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, to be paid on September 12th.

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,134,620 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after selling 44,250 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.46% of eBay worth $144,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in eBay by 2,536.5% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,535,290 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $239,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401,198 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in eBay by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,493,042 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $1,765,148,000 after acquiring an additional 3,149,934 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its holdings in eBay by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 11,178,638 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $692,517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277,839 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in eBay by 5,181.4% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,196,321 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $148,757,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154,735 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in eBay by 304.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,105,270 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $130,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584,404 shares during the period. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EBAY has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $92.00 price objective (up from $77.00) on shares of eBay in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cfra Research raised eBay to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on eBay from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of eBay in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on eBay from $66.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 75,952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.25, for a total value of $7,082,524.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 53,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,952,227.75. This represents a 58.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 2,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.67, for a total value of $234,829.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 92,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,241,809.51. The trade was a 3.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,104 shares of company stock worth $22,025,676 over the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

eBay Trading Up 0.1%

EBAY stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $93.14. 5,326,361 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,380,925. The business's 50 day moving average price is $79.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.62. eBay Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.80 and a 52-week high of $93.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.27.

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

eBay Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. eBay's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.