Cambridge Trust Co. Grows Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Cambridge Trust Co. raised its position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 135.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,175 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after buying an additional 675 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in eBay were worth $51,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in eBay by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $547,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534,030 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in eBay by 5.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 48,038,931 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $2,131,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,766 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $254,712,000 after buying an additional 1,491,485 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 82.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,118,490 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $138,367,000 after buying an additional 1,410,871 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of eBay during the fourth quarter worth about $50,018,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at eBay

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on eBay from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.21.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of EBAY opened at $50.39 on Friday. eBay Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.17 and a 12-month high of $52.93. The stock has a market cap of $26.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.25.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

eBay Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.69%.

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.