Plato Investment Management Ltd Raises Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 1,030.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,162 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,493 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $749,561,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in PayPal by 125.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,724,188 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $105,882,000 after purchasing an additional 958,130 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,644,317 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $445,103,000 after purchasing an additional 904,804 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in PayPal by 4,024.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 783,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $48,099,000 after purchasing an additional 764,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in PayPal by 1,309.2% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 800,648 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,168,000 after purchasing an additional 743,833 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.94.

PayPal Trading Down 0.7 %

PayPal stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $65.31. 19,052,460 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,653,487. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.25 and a fifty-two week high of $74.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The business had revenue of $7.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $272,616.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a technology platform that enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. It operates a two-sided network at scale that connects merchants and consumers that enables its customers to connect, transact, and send and receive payments through online and in person, as well as transfer and withdraw funds using various funding sources, such as bank accounts, PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products comprising its installment products, credit and debit cards, and cryptocurrencies, as well as other stored value products, including gift cards and eligible rewards.