National Pension Service Raises Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in PayPal by 6.2% in the first quarter, owning approximately 2.6 million shares valued at $170.7 million.
• PayPal received a mix of analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and target prices ranging from $75.00 to $95.00.
• Insider selling occurred with two executives, Suzan Kereere and Chris Natali, offloading shares worth approximately $797,347 in recent transactions.

National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,615,867 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 152,981 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.27% of PayPal worth $170,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Security National Bank of SO Dak boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 12,191 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in PayPal by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,016 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its holdings in PayPal by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,208 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 0.8% during the first quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 20,450 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DMC Group LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 2.0% in the first quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 7,948 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total value of $304,824.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,550,894.92. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $277,035.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,020,248. The trade was a 21.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,736 shares of company stock worth $1,620,835. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PayPal Trading Down 1.8%

PYPL stock traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.38. 10,669,716 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,971,066. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $93.66. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $66.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.07.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PYPL. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $74.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

About PayPal

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.