Aviva PLC Buys 233,964 Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 380.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 295,395 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after acquiring an additional 233,964 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $18,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in eBay during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of eBay in the third quarter worth $36,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in eBay in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in eBay by 115.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 836 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of eBay from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $60.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on eBay from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on eBay from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of eBay in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of eBay from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, eBay currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $497,625.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 590,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,153,665.80. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.93, for a total transaction of $67,072.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,225,644.40. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,176 shares of company stock worth $3,111,432. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

eBay Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of EBAY opened at $61.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43. eBay Inc. has a one year low of $48.52 and a one year high of $71.61. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

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.