Merit Financial Group LLC Has $576,000 Holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 169.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,302 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,855 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,263,000. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its position in eBay by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in eBay by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 63,136 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $3,911,000 after acquiring an additional 4,356 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of eBay by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,340 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 22,811 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EBAY. UBS Group dropped their price objective on eBay from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on eBay from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush began coverage on shares of eBay in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on eBay from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of eBay from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.83.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY stock opened at $63.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. eBay Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.74 and a 52-week high of $71.52. The company has a market capitalization of $30.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.27.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. eBay’s payout ratio is presently 27.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In related news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 5,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.63, for a total value of $334,184.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,080 shares in the company, valued at $4,141,040.40. This represents a 7.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.38, for a total transaction of $350,887.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 542,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,825,430.24. The trade was a 1.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,149 shares of company stock worth $1,704,778. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.