Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. by 9.8%, selling 31,469 shares and ending up with 290,137 shares valued at approximately $18.93 million.
• Despite insider sales, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for PayPal, with an average target price of $84.57 following positive earnings results.
• PayPal's stock has experienced a 1.7% decline recently, trading at $68.22, while the company boasts a significant market capitalization of $65.18 billion.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 290,137 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 31,469 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in PayPal were worth $18,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz SE increased its holdings in PayPal by 281.8% in the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 30,338 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 22,392 shares in the last quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 261,322 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $22,304,000 after purchasing an additional 27,812 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the first quarter worth about $535,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,634,664 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $651,619,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triglav Skladi D.O.O. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $939,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 7,102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $492,523.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total transaction of $304,824.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,550,894.92. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,736 shares of company stock valued at $1,620,835 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

PayPal Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of PYPL stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.65. The company had a trading volume of 9,663,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,469,648. The company's fifty day moving average is $72.89 and its 200 day moving average is $71.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.85 and a fifty-two week high of $93.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.10. PayPal had a net margin of 14.49% and a return on equity of 25.35%. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "sell" rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PayPal from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "sell" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.57.

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.