CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Raises Stock Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,190,262 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after acquiring an additional 207,258 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.25% of eBay worth $73,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in eBay by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 11,178,638 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $692,517,000 after buying an additional 2,277,839 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 304.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,105,270 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $130,421,000 after buying an additional 1,584,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of eBay during the 4th quarter worth $96,214,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of eBay by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,856,276 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $362,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524,691 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of eBay by 531.1% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,780,737 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $110,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498,566 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company's stock.

eBay Stock Up 1.7 %

eBay stock traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,120,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,937,002. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $66.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43. eBay Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.52 and a fifty-two week high of $71.61.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from eBay's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. eBay's dividend payout ratio is 29.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In related news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 28,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.82, for a total value of $1,903,029.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,413,725.60. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $265,423.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,329,927.52. This represents a 4.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,310 shares of company stock valued at $3,121,626 in the last quarter. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EBAY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on eBay from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of eBay from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays set a $72.00 target price on eBay and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of eBay from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of eBay from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.92.

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.