Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,198,319 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 14,529 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in eBay were worth $78,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in eBay during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $865,000. Keystone Financial Services grew its stake in eBay by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 15,247 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in eBay during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $164,000. Arvest Investments Inc. lifted its position in eBay by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 15,205 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, River Global Investors LLP lifted its position in eBay by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 35,071 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $2,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on EBAY. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on eBay from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on eBay from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on eBay from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on eBay from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on eBay from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, eBay currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.87.

eBay Stock Performance

eBay stock opened at $62.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.37. The company has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34. eBay Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $67.80.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. eBay’s payout ratio is 27.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total value of $336,993.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 548,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,833,196.22. The trade was a 1.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 25,000 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 70,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,494,918.12. This represents a 26.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,016 shares of company stock valued at $3,015,417. Corporate 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.