Utah Retirement Systems Trims Holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Utah Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,403 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems' holdings in eBay were worth $4,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 11,178,638 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $692,517,000 after buying an additional 2,277,839 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in eBay by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,151,026 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $573,220,000 after acquiring an additional 335,035 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of eBay by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,032,336 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $435,665,000 after acquiring an additional 245,624 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of eBay by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,809,265 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $421,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,936,508 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $367,767,000 after acquiring an additional 82,904 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 28,060 shares of eBay stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.82, for a total transaction of $1,903,029.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,413,725.60. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.25, for a total value of $378,281.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 530,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,709,615.50. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,310 shares of company stock valued at $3,121,626. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on eBay from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of eBay in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of eBay from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on eBay from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, eBay currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.12.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $67.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. eBay Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.52 and a 12 month high of $71.61. The company has a market capitalization of $31.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's 50-day moving average is $65.87 and its 200 day moving average is $65.01.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. eBay's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

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.

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