Ascent Group LLC Purchases 3,992 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 60.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,647 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after buying an additional 3,992 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in eBay during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of eBay by 894.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 517 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY opened at $65.11 on Tuesday. eBay Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.17 and a 12-month high of $65.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.64. The company has a market capitalization of $32.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.32.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The e-commerce company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88. eBay had a return on equity of 29.69% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. eBay’s payout ratio is currently 21.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EBAY. StockNews.com upgraded eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Daiwa America upgraded eBay to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on eBay from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on eBay from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on eBay from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, eBay has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.29.

Insider Activity at eBay

In related news, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.61, for a total transaction of $256,760.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 70,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,530,000.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other eBay news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total value of $1,597,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,494,918.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.61, for a total value of $256,760.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 70,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,530,000.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

eBay Company 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.