Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $558.50 Million Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in PayPal Holdings, acquiring an additional 2,638,815 shares and boosting its ownership by 44.6%, now holding a total of 8,559,376 shares worth approximately $558 million.
• PayPal shares recently dropped by 1.7%, trading at $68.22 with a market cap of $65.18 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58.
• Insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares at an average price of $73.24, reflecting a 7.91% decrease in her position, while total insider sales in the last quarter amounted to $1.62 million.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 44.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,559,376 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,638,815 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.88% of PayPal worth $558,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of PayPal by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in PayPal by 124.1% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,497,415 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $228,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,520 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in PayPal by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,462,251 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $892,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669,908 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $140,164,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 79.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,173 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $258,199,000 after buying an additional 1,341,004 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ PYPL traded down $0.57 on Friday, reaching $67.65. 9,663,964 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,262,234. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $93.66. The company has a market cap of $64.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $72.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.08 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 14.49%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PYPL. Wall Street Zen upgraded PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on PayPal from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $75.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total value of $277,035.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,020,248. The trade was a 21.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 7,102 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,736 shares of company stock worth $1,620,835. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

PayPal 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.