Independent Franchise Partners LLP Grows Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,178,638 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,277,839 shares during the quarter. eBay makes up 5.2% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 2.33% of eBay worth $692,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,580 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $3,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 7,074 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in eBay by 5,091.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 142,051 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $8,800,000 after acquiring an additional 139,315 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of eBay by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 8,121 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of eBay in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,644,000. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other eBay news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 7,500 shares of eBay stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $497,625.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 590,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,153,665.80. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $265,423.48. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,329,927.52. This trade represents a 4.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,176 shares of company stock worth $3,111,432 in the last quarter. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY stock traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.50. 3,518,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,955,222. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.95. eBay Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.52 and a 12 month high of $71.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43.

eBay Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from eBay's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. eBay's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EBAY. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on eBay from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of eBay from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of eBay from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on eBay from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.21.

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.