PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Position Raised by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $4,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in PayPal by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on PYPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on PayPal from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Susquehanna increased their target price on PayPal from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Argus lowered PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.73.

PayPal Stock Down 1.9 %

PYPL stock traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.70. The company had a trading volume of 15,435,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,651,739. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.44. The company has a market capitalization of $68.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.41. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.25 and a 52 week high of $76.54.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.14). PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total transaction of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.