Mezzasalma Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC acquired a new position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 4,995 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in eBay by 39.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $547,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534,030 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,438 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $272,551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,288 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $254,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491,485 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of eBay by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,547,105 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $244,572,000 after acquiring an additional 60,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in eBay by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 4,577,264 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $199,660,000 after purchasing an additional 30,545 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of eBay stock traded down $0.64 on Thursday, hitting $52.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,803,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,778,296. eBay Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.17 and a 52 week high of $55.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The company has a market cap of $26.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.52.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 25.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that eBay Inc. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on EBAY shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of eBay from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Citigroup assumed coverage on eBay in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on eBay from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded eBay from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at eBay

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 986 shares of eBay stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $52,110.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 37,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,109.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other eBay news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 7,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.20, for a total transaction of $402,109.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 70,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,837,197.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total transaction of $52,110.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 37,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,109.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,558 shares of company stock valued at $3,001,254. 0.38% of the stock is 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.