Equity Investment Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Equity Investment Corp lifted its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,983,262 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 133,382 shares during the period. PayPal makes up 2.9% of Equity Investment Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Equity Investment Corp owned about 0.20% of PayPal worth $129,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Security National Bank of SO Dak lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 12,191 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in PayPal by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,016 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp lifted 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 buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. DMC Group LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 7,948 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,839 shares of PayPal 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 directly owned 16,989 shares in the company, 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 a total of 11,796 shares of company stock valued at $863,028 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL stock traded up $0.88 during trading on Thursday, reaching $73.85. 6,624,873 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,863,456. 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 $71.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $72.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.84 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 24.59%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised PayPal to a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial started coverage on PayPal in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of PayPal from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.81.

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.