Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $13.83 Million Stock Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 316,980 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 102,460 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in eBay were worth $13,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in eBay during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its position in eBay by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 1,175 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in eBay during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in eBay during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EBAY. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley raised eBay from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on eBay in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.21.

eBay Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ EBAY opened at $51.25 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 2.44. eBay Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.17 and a fifty-two week high of $52.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.33.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.04. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that eBay Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. This is an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.69%.

eBay declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the e-commerce company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at eBay

In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.