PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Purchased by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 558,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,315 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of PayPal worth $47,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,529,823,000 after buying an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in PayPal by 284.0% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $666,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in PayPal by 174.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in PayPal by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,615,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161,582 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PayPal Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PYPL traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.26. 7,467,331 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,242,049. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.51. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 year high of $93.66. The firm's fifty day moving average is $65.65 and its 200-day moving average is $77.72.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.17. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Compass Point began coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "sell" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.68.

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.