Rafferty Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,736 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,032 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $4,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in eBay by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 95,874 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $5,939,000 after purchasing an additional 14,336 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in eBay in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $438,000. Man Group plc increased its stake in eBay by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 275,184 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $17,048,000 after purchasing an additional 106,905 shares in the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC purchased a new position in eBay in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,841,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in eBay by 152.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 15,779 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 45,779 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on eBay from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of eBay in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on eBay from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark raised their price target on eBay from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Daiwa America raised eBay from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In other eBay news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 127,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.43, for a total transaction of $8,822,470.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 123,282 shares in the company, valued at $8,559,469.26. The trade was a 50.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 28,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.82, for a total value of $1,903,029.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,413,725.60. This represents a 30.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 187,755 shares of company stock valued at $12,943,715. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY stock opened at $71.84 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.50. eBay Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.02 and a 12-month high of $71.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $33.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.62%.

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.