Principal Securities Inc. Makes New $897,000 Investment in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,561 shares of the e-commerce company's stock, valued at approximately $897,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHE LLC raised its stake in eBay by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,480 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in eBay by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,411 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in eBay by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in eBay by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 48,235 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of eBay by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,233 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company's stock.

eBay Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ EBAY traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $51.99. The company had a trading volume of 5,039,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,325,691. The business's 50-day moving average is $51.19 and its 200-day moving average is $45.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.31. eBay Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.17 and a 52 week high of $52.93.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a net margin of 25.97% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that eBay Inc. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. eBay's payout ratio is 21.51%.

eBay declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the e-commerce company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EBAY. Susquehanna boosted their price target on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of eBay in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on eBay from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In related news, SVP Marie Oh Huber sold 49,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.63, for a total value of $2,435,344.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,803,915.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $50,129.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marie Oh Huber sold 49,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.63, for a total value of $2,435,344.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 177,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,803,915.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.