Wright Investors Service Inc. Makes New Investment in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Wright Investors Service Inc. bought a new position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $407,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 26,063 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 15,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. increased its holdings in PayPal by 4.9% in the first quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 3,196 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 5.3% in the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 3,095 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in PayPal by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total transaction of $466,079.04. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $62.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.90. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.25 and a 1-year high of $76.54.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.12. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PYPL. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (down previously from $118.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.47.

PayPal Company 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.