Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC reduced its stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 834,090 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 51,394 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $51,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EBAY. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of eBay during the 3rd quarter valued at $105,506,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in eBay during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,214,000. Boston Partners raised its position in eBay by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,856,276 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $362,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524,691 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in eBay by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,719,128 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $292,350,000 after purchasing an additional 677,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of eBay during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,805,000. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of EBAY opened at $62.40 on Friday. eBay Inc. has a one year low of $48.52 and a one year high of $71.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43.

eBay Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. eBay’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EBAY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on eBay from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of eBay from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $60.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of eBay from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of eBay in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on eBay from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $265,423.48. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,329,927.52. This represents a 4.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of eBay stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.25, for a total transaction of $378,281.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 530,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,709,615.50. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,676 shares of company stock valued at $2,613,807 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.38% 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.