Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 19,732 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 488.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,772 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,732 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 58.6% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $65.96 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.16. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.25 and a 52 week high of $76.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $69.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal has an average 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.