Sun Sep 15 16:36:48 UTC 2024: ## Federated Hermes Increases eBay Stake, Institutional Investors Show Interest in E-commerce Giant
**New York, NY – September 15, 2024** – Federated Hermes Inc. has significantly increased its stake in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) by 42.9% during the second quarter, according to Holdings Channel. The institutional investor now owns 547,517 shares of the online marketplace platform, worth $29,413,000 at the end of the quarter.
Federated Hermes is not alone in its bullish outlook on eBay. Several other large investors have also made moves in the company’s stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake by 7.7% in the first quarter, now owning over 62 million shares valued at $3.3 billion.
New entrants include M&G Plc and Swedbank AB, who acquired stakes valued at approximately $97.5 million and $73.8 million respectively in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management also boosted its position in the second quarter, purchasing an additional 1.2 million shares to reach a total ownership of 6.7 million shares.
Norges Bank joined the list of investors in the fourth quarter with a new position worth $53 million. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds hold 87.48% of the company’s stock.
In related news, eBay’s SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 986 shares of the company’s stock on June 18th at an average price of $52.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
eBay recently reported its earnings for the second quarter, meeting analyst expectations with $0.88 earnings per share. Revenue came in at $2.57 billion, slightly exceeding projections. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing a $1.08 annualized dividend.
Analyst sentiment on eBay remains mixed. While JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage with a “neutral” rating, Goldman Sachs Group lowered its price target to $46.00 and assigned a “sell” rating. Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, however, have upgraded their ratings to “buy” and “overweight” respectively, while Benchmark increased its target price to $65.00.
The average target price for eBay is $56.90, with 16 analysts holding “hold” ratings, 7 issuing “buy” ratings, and one assigning a “sell” rating.
Overall, eBay’s recent financial performance, combined with the growing interest from institutional investors, suggests a positive outlook for the e-commerce company. However, investors should carefully consider the mixed analyst opinions before making any investment decisions.
First Piper 