Smead Capital Management Inc. Sells 140,849 Shares of eBay Inc. $EBAY

Key Points

• Smead Capital Management cut its eBay stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 140,849 shares and still holding more than 2.03 million shares worth about $177 million.
• Insiders have also been selling: SVP Mazen Rawashdeh and SVP Jordan Douglas Bradle Sweetnam both reduced their holdings, and insiders have sold 86,953 shares over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain mostly cautious on eBay despite raising price targets, with the stock carrying a Hold consensus and an average target price of $107.90; eBay recently beat earnings estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share.

Smead Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,032,886 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after selling 140,849 shares during the quarter. eBay accounts for approximately 3.7% of Smead Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of eBay worth $177,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. High Point Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 318 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mazen Rawashdeh sold 23,167 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.59, for a total transaction of $2,168,199.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 28,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,154.85. The trade was a 44.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jordan Douglas Bradle Sweetnam sold 1,010 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.61, for a total value of $116,766.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,146 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,399.06. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 86,953 shares of company stock worth $8,287,444 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EBAY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $96.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $90.00 to $114.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.90.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of eBay stock opened at $115.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.57. eBay Inc. has a one year low of $71.53 and a one year high of $119.31.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. eBay had a return on equity of 46.11% and a net margin of 17.58%.The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. eBay has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.090-1.140 EPS. Research analysts expect that eBay Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. eBay's payout ratio is presently 28.12%.

Key Stories Impacting eBay

Here are the key news stories impacting eBay this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GameStop raised its economic exposure to eBay through derivatives and filings, increasing speculation that Ryan Cohen may push for a takeover or activist campaign that could unlock value for EBAY shareholders. GameStop Raises Economic Exposure to eBay
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that GameStop is interested in buying eBay helped lift sentiment, as takeover speculation can boost a stock on expectations of a higher offer price or strategic restructuring. eBay (EBAY) Stock Is Up, What You Need To Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage are debating whether Ryan Cohen should be taken seriously as an eBay investor, adding attention but not yet confirming a formal deal or major operating change. Should Ryan Cohen be taken seriously as an eBay investor?
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted eBay’s recent surge to 52-week highs, suggesting the stock has already priced in some of the takeover-related optimism. Why did ARM, SLS, EBAY stocks surge to 52-week highs?
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary warned that a GameStop bid could damage its own credit rating and valuation, which may temper enthusiasm if the takeover thesis becomes less credible or more complicated. GameStop Wants to Buy eBay. It Could Collapse Its Credit Rating and Valuation in the Process.

eBay Company Profile

eBay Inc is a global e-commerce company that operates an online marketplace connecting individual consumers and businesses for the sale and purchase of new, used and collectible goods. Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar and headquartered in San Jose, California, eBay grew from its early auction-style site into a diversified platform offering both auction-format listings and fixed-price "Buy It Now" transactions. The company completed an initial public offering in the late 1990s and has since evolved its platform and services to support a broad range of product categories and buyer preferences.

The company's core business centers on its marketplace platform, which provides listing, search and transaction capabilities for millions of items across consumer goods, electronics, fashion, collectibles and more.

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