Smead Capital Management Inc. Purchases 22,959 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,270,059 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,959 shares during the quarter. eBay accounts for 2.6% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of eBay worth $142,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EBAY. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 9.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,990 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 3,655 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 21.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,176 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 34.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 461,862 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $26,460,000 after acquiring an additional 118,952 shares during the period. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 6.2% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 223,976 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $12,825,000 after acquiring an additional 13,127 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 17.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,715 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the period. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of eBay stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.07. 4,431,896 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,469,449. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.16. eBay Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.17 and a 1-year high of $52.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. eBay had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 29.16%. eBay’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. eBay’s payout ratio is presently 20.69%.

eBay announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the e-commerce company to buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on EBAY. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.