Manhattan West Asset Management LLC Sells 6,565 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• Manhattan West Asset Management LLC sold 6,565 shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc., reducing its ownership by 28.3%, leaving it with 16,607 shares valued at approximately $1,084,000.
• Institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in PayPal, with major players like Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosting holdings by 0.3% and 44.6%, respectively, during recent quarters.
• Despite beating earnings estimates with a reported $1.40 EPS, PayPal's stock has seen a decline, opening at $67.65, and analysts have mixed ratings ranging from “sell” to “strong buy.”

Manhattan West Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 28.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,607 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,565 shares during the quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC's holdings in PayPal were worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $248,000. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $459,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in PayPal by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 15,715 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in PayPal by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 143,613 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $12,257,000 after acquiring an additional 6,848 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total value of $277,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,020,248. This trade represents a 21.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,838 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.12, for a total transaction of $265,282.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,174,279.68. This trade represents a 18.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,736 shares of company stock valued at $1,620,835. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $75.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.00.

PayPal Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading 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. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $93.66. The company has a market capitalization of $64.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.52.

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

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.