Merit Financial Group LLC Has $576,000 Stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 169.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,302 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock after buying an additional 5,855 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in eBay were worth $576,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in eBay during the third quarter worth $38,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in eBay in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of eBay by 115.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 836 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 276.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 846 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other eBay news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,225,644.40. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.38, for a total value of $350,887.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 542,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,825,430.24. This trade represents a 1.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,704,778 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on EBAY shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of eBay from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised eBay from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on eBay from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of eBay in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.83.

eBay Trading Down 1.2 %

EBAY opened at $63.88 on Thursday. eBay Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.74 and a fifty-two week high of $71.52. The company has a market cap of $30.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.35. 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 50 day simple moving average of $63.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.27.

eBay Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.14%.

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.