HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,057 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after selling 7,885 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $7,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EBAY. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in eBay by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 4,411 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in eBay by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in eBay by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,417 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in eBay by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in eBay by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 34,651 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $2,147,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of eBay in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of eBay in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of eBay in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of eBay from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on 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 owns 530,998 shares in the company, valued at $35,709,615.50. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,033 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.93, for a total transaction of $67,072.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,080 shares in the company, valued at $4,225,644.40. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,283 shares of company stock valued at $796,241. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

eBay Trading Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $65.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. eBay Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.52 and a 12 month high of $71.61. The company has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.56.

eBay Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. eBay’s payout ratio is 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.