Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 6,886 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System has reduced its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. by 12.8%, holding 46,887 shares worth approximately $3,059,000 after selling 6,886 shares.
• Several other institutional investors increased their stakes in PayPal, including Capital Research Global Investors, which raised its position by 108.2%, now holding a value of about $1.53 billion.
• As of the latest analyst reports, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $84.57, despite recent adjustments from multiple financial institutions.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,887 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,886 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in PayPal were worth $3,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.2% in the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $459,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in PayPal by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 15,715 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its stake in PayPal by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 143,613 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $12,257,000 after purchasing an additional 6,848 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 7,102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $492,523.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,839 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total value of $281,168.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,244,274.36. The trade was a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,736 shares of company stock valued at $1,620,835 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.65. 9,663,964 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,469,648. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $93.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $72.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.52.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $75.00 target price on PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America decreased their target price on PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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, Morgan Stanley reissued a "positive" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

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.