American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in eBay Inc. $EBAY

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 54.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 873,577 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after purchasing an additional 306,519 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.19% of eBay worth $59,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EBAY. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in shares of eBay by 2,536.5% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,535,290 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $239,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401,198 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of eBay by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,493,042 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,765,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,149,934 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of eBay in the first quarter valued at $202,346,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of eBay by 5,181.4% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,196,321 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $148,757,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154,735 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of eBay by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,809,265 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $421,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ EBAY opened at $99.03 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.06. eBay Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.29 and a 52-week high of $101.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.07. eBay had a return on equity of 38.97% and a net margin of 20.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. eBay’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark lifted their price objective on eBay from $78.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on eBay from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $87.00 price target on eBay in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp raised eBay to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised eBay from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, eBay currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.19.

Insider Transactions at eBay

In other news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 75,952 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.25, for a total transaction of $7,082,524.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 53,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,952,227.75. This represents a 58.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 10,974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total value of $831,280.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 306,651 shares in the company, valued at $23,228,813.25. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 276,104 shares of company stock worth $22,025,676. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.