Freedom Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,237 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after selling 5,227 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in eBay were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EBAY. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in eBay during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of eBay during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of eBay during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in eBay by 115.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 836 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in eBay by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 839 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on eBay from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of eBay from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of eBay from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on eBay from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on eBay from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.92.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,782,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,947,399. eBay Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.52 and a 1-year high of $71.61. The stock has a market cap of $31.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50 day moving average price is $66.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from eBay's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. eBay's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.21, for a total transaction of $77,267.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,946.80. The trade was a 1.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $265,423.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares in the company, valued at $6,329,927.52. This trade represents a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,310 shares of company stock valued at $3,121,626. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

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.