eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Price Target Cut to $61.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $62.00 to $61.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the e-commerce company's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on eBay in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a sell rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on eBay from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on eBay from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $51.35.

eBay Trading Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ:EBAY traded down $1.67 on Thursday, reaching $49.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,828,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,444,932. eBay has a 12-month low of $37.17 and a 12-month high of $52.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $25.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.77.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that eBay will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the e-commerce company to purchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. eBay's payout ratio is currently 20.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On eBay

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of eBay by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $547,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534,030 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 11,167,875 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $495,407,000 after acquiring an additional 289,071 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in eBay by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,182,095 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $360,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,089 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in eBay by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,979,291 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $307,717,000 after purchasing an additional 209,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in eBay by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,438 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $272,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,288 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.