PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Bought by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. raised its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,337 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,943 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.'s holdings in PayPal were worth $3,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Avalon Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 2,067 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Security National Bank of SO Dak grew its position 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 valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. now owns 4,546 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in PayPal by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,016 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its stake in PayPal by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,208 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $73.17 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.85 and a 52 week high of $93.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $71.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $69.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.80.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 24.59%. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. PayPal's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI started coverage on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $117.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PayPal from $110.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,839 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total transaction of $281,168.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,244,274.36. This trade represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 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 $304,824.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,550,894.92. This represents a 7.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,796 shares of company stock worth $863,028 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PayPal 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.

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