First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in eBay Inc. $EBAY

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 27.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,309,698 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,808,976 shares during the quarter. eBay comprises approximately 0.6% of First Trust Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.84% of eBay worth $755,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of eBay by 18.2% in the third quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,391 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in eBay during the 3rd quarter worth about $310,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in eBay by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 219,954 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $20,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,169 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC grew its holdings in eBay by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in eBay by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,101 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at eBay

In other news, SVP Mazen Rawashdeh sold 1,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.90, for a total transaction of $157,248.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,597.40. This trade represents a 25.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 2,896 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.44, for a total transaction of $238,746.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 55,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,615,815.60. This represents a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,593 shares of company stock worth $3,998,870. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of EBAY opened at $92.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.80. eBay Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.71 and a 12-month high of $101.15.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The e-commerce company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. eBay had a net margin of 18.30% and a return on equity of 43.04%. eBay’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. eBay has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.530-1.590 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that eBay Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. eBay’s payout ratio is currently 26.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EBAY. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of eBay in a report on Thursday, February 19th. President Capital reduced their price objective on shares of eBay from $103.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of eBay from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of eBay in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.97.

About eBay

eBay Inc is a global e-commerce company that operates an online marketplace connecting individual consumers and businesses for the sale and purchase of new, used and collectible goods. Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar and headquartered in San Jose, California, eBay grew from its early auction-style site into a diversified platform offering both auction-format listings and fixed-price “Buy It Now” transactions. The company completed an initial public offering in the late 1990s and has since evolved its platform and services to support a broad range of product categories and buyer preferences.

The company’s core business centers on its marketplace platform, which provides listing, search and transaction capabilities for millions of items across consumer goods, electronics, fashion, collectibles and more.