Brookstone Capital Management Increases Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 459.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,292 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,516 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in PayPal were worth $3,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in PayPal in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on PayPal from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.42.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,839 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total transaction of $281,168.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,244,274.36. This trade represents a 18.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total value of $304,824.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,550,894.92. This represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,796 shares of company stock valued at $863,028. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $76.41. The company had a trading volume of 5,263,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,867,096. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $74.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.45. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.17. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 EPS for the current year.

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.