Smead Capital Management Inc. Buys 22,959 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,270,059 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after buying an additional 22,959 shares during the quarter. eBay makes up about 2.6% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in eBay were worth $142,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter valued at $1,767,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 604.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 630,956 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $27,522,000 after purchasing an additional 541,384 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in shares of eBay in the third quarter valued at about $798,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter valued at about $955,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 1.6% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,785,607 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $122,817,000 after purchasing an additional 43,616 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on EBAY. StockNews.com upgraded shares of eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.21.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of EBAY stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $50.07. The stock had a trading volume of 4,431,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,469,449. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. eBay Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.17 and a 12 month high of $52.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.33.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.04. eBay had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 29.16%. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. eBay’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

eBay announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the e-commerce company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

eBay Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.69%.

eBay 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.