Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,816 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,248 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in PayPal were worth $8,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,529,823,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313,783 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 284.0% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $666,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,615,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161,582 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 124.1% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,497,415 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $228,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,520 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PYPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Macquarie cut their target price 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. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.42.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PayPal stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $76.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,263,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,867,096. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $93.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.10. The company has a market capitalization of $74.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.45.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $7.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,839 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were 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. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,020,248. This trade represents a 21.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,796 shares of company stock worth $863,028. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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.