Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Buys 26,884 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 220,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,884 shares during the period. PayPal comprises 2.1% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $13,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Up 1.4 %

PayPal stock traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $66.87. The stock had a trading volume of 11,220,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,156,956. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.25 and a 12 month high of $76.54. The company has a market capitalization of $70.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its 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 return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on PayPal from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on PayPal from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on PayPal from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.72.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 23,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About PayPal

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.