Choate Investment Advisors Has $819,000 Holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Choate Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,220 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in eBay were worth $819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EBAY. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in eBay by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,580 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $3,489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of eBay by 172.5% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 11,175 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 7,074 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in eBay during the third quarter worth about $1,307,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in eBay by 794.2% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 70,616 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 62,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in eBay by 5,091.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 142,051 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $8,800,000 after buying an additional 139,315 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of eBay stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.25, for a total transaction of $378,281.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,033 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.93, for a total transaction of $67,072.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,225,644.40. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,272 shares of company stock worth $1,056,324 over the last ninety days. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EBAY. StockNews.com upgraded eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on eBay from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on eBay from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of eBay from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, eBay has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.54.

eBay Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $65.28 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.45. The company has a market cap of $30.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. eBay Inc. has a one year low of $48.52 and a one year high of $71.61.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

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.