eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Hits New 1-Year High at $52.82

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.82 and last traded at $52.45, with a volume of 1495276 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on EBAY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on eBay in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna increased their price target on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, eBay presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.84.

eBay Trading Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $27.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.27.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. eBay’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. This is an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. eBay’s payout ratio is 20.69%.

eBay announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the e-commerce company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of eBay

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in eBay by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,611,240 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $72,006,000 after acquiring an additional 480,156 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in shares of eBay in the 3rd quarter valued at about $798,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,785,607 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $122,817,000 after buying an additional 43,616 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 279,084 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $12,305,000 after buying an additional 34,304 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $50,708,000 after buying an additional 276,291 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

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.