EBay to Pay Its First-Ever Dividend : Summarize the article below.

1. Why would a big, profitable company not pay dividends for so long?
2. Are there any investor groups who might be upset that Ebay is going to start paying a dividend?

By Patrick Thomas

EBay Inc. said Tuesday it would pay a 14-cent dividend in March, its first ever, as the company faces pressure from hedge-fund investors to improve shareholder returns. The dividend, which is set to be paid on March 20, is part of a broader capital-return plan the company announced. It also added $4 billion to its buyback program. Its authorization was $3.2 billion on Dec. 31. Overall, the company said it would return about $7 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks over the next two years, with $5.5 billion of that happening this year. TECH EBay to Pay Its First-Ever Dividend Pressured by hedge-fund investors,the company is also boosting its share buybacks EBay, under pressure from activistinvestors, plans to return about $7 billion to shareholders overthe nexttwo years through dividends and buybacks.