First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Sells 599 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lowered its stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,062 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in eBay were worth $570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in eBay during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 135.0% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 1,175 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in eBay in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in eBay in the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. 87.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at eBay

In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

eBay Price Performance

eBay stock opened at $49.65 on Monday. eBay Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.17 and a 12-month high of $52.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.31.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. eBay had a net margin of 25.97% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that eBay Inc. will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

eBay announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the e-commerce company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. eBay’s payout ratio is 21.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EBAY shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on eBay from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of eBay in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of eBay from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of eBay from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, eBay currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.35.

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.