StockNews.com started coverage on shares of eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY – Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the e-commerce company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on EBAY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of eBay from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of eBay from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of eBay from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $49.92.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBAY traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.77. 695,440 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,888,754. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. eBay has a twelve month low of $35.92 and a twelve month high of $60.38.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. eBay had a negative net margin of 12.96% and a positive return on equity of 34.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that eBay will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from eBay's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. eBay's payout ratio is currently -46.95%.

Institutional Trading of eBay

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EBAY. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 9.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,990 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 3,655 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 21.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,176 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 34.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 461,862 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $26,460,000 after purchasing an additional 118,952 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 6.2% in the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 223,976 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $12,825,000 after purchasing an additional 13,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 17.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,715 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.51% of the company's stock.

eBay Company Profile

(Get Rating)

eBay, Inc is a commerce company, whose platforms include an online marketplace and its localized counterparts, including off-platform businesses in South Korea, Japan, and Turkey, as well as eBay's suite of mobile apps. Its technologies and services are designed to give buyers choice and a breadth of relevant inventory and to enable sellers worldwide to organize and offer their inventory for sale, virtually anytime and anywhere.

Further Reading

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