eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Short Interest Down 9.5% in October

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,080,000 shares, a decrease of 9.5% from the October 15th total of 21,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EBAY. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Susquehanna upped their price target on eBay from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of eBay in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of eBay from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.87.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of EBAY traded down $0.31 on Tuesday, reaching $61.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,654,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,402,167. eBay has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $67.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $63.57 and a 200 day moving average of $57.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. eBay's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other eBay news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total transaction of $336,993.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 548,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,833,196.22. This represents a 1.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 25,000 shares of eBay stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total value of $1,597,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,332 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,918.12. This represents a 26.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,016 shares of company stock worth $3,015,417. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of eBay

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 52,494 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $3,418,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its stake in eBay by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 34,082 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $2,219,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in eBay by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 23,475 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 15,205 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 10,335 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company's stock.

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.