Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,773 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,276 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in PayPal were worth $9,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J. Goldman & Co LP lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 261,322 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $22,304,000 after buying an additional 27,812 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its position in shares of PayPal by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 697,077 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $59,489,000 after purchasing an additional 18,172 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of PayPal by 223.1% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 265,048 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $22,622,000 after purchasing an additional 183,011 shares during the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. increased its position in shares of PayPal by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 27,249 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 11,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ring Mountain Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $581,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total value of $277,035.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,020,248. This trade represents a 21.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $110.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on PayPal from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on PayPal from $117.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price objective on PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.29.

PayPal Trading Up 1.3%

PayPal stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,237,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,093,199. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.84 and a 200-day moving average of $76.25. The stock has a market cap of $71.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.84 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research 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.