75,000 Shares in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Purchased by Pacific Capital Partners Ltd

Key Points

• Pacific Capital Partners Ltd acquired 75,000 shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. for approximately $4.89 million, making it the 14th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Insider transactions included sales by director Deborah M. Messemer and EVP Diego Scotti, indicating a decrease in their shareholdings by 21.36% and 18.43%, respectively.
• PayPal's stock trades at around $71.45 with analysts maintaining a mixed outlook, citing an average target price of $83.73 and an overall rating of "Hold."

Pacific Capital Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 75,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,894,000. PayPal accounts for 3.1% of Pacific Capital Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,353 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,420,000 after buying an additional 4,787 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 612,283 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $52,307,000 after buying an additional 43,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 34,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,006,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Compass Point began coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.57.

PayPal Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ PYPL traded down $1.65 on Friday, hitting $67.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,163,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,276,834. The company's 50-day moving average is $73.20 and its 200 day moving average is $72.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $93.66. The firm has a market cap of $64.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.45.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.10. PayPal had a net margin of 14.49% and a return on equity of 25.35%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,020,248. This represents a 21.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total transaction of $304,824.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 48,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,550,894.92. This represents a 7.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,796 shares of company stock valued at $863,028 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.