eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,910,000 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the November 30th total of 22,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at eBay

In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $374,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,666 shares in the company, valued at $36,852,008.96. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $77,757.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,336,213.77. This represents a 1.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,908 shares of company stock worth $2,110,731 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of eBay

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EBAY. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of eBay by 1.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 594,161 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $38,686,000 after acquiring an additional 9,990 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in eBay during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,132,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in eBay by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 986,165 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $64,209,000 after purchasing an additional 209,433 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in eBay by 14.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 784,378 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $52,459,000 after purchasing an additional 99,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of eBay by 7.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 67,209 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $4,376,000 after buying an additional 4,677 shares during the period. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EBAY has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of eBay in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of eBay from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of eBay in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on eBay from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.63.

eBay Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ EBAY opened at $61.95 on Thursday. eBay has a 1-year low of $40.16 and a 1-year high of $67.80. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $62.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.35.

eBay Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.14%.

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.