Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 868,953 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. significantly increased its holdings in PayPal by 301.7% during the 1st quarter, now owning over 1.15 million shares valued at approximately $75.5 million.
• Multiple institutional investors raised their stakes in PayPal, with Westpac Banking Corp. notably increasing its position by 74% in the 4th quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on PayPal, with price targets ranging from $68.00 to $84.57 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy," indicating a divided outlook on the stock's performance.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 301.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,156,955 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 868,953 shares during the quarter. PayPal comprises about 0.7% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.12% of PayPal worth $75,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 108.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,615,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161,582 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 124.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,462,251 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $892,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at about $140,164,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Macquarie reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JMP Securities reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 7,102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $492,523.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 22,736 shares of company stock worth $1,620,835 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

PayPal Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL traded down $1.65 on Friday, hitting $67.11. 15,163,964 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,875,645. The company has a market capitalization of $64.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $93.66. The firm's 50-day moving average is $73.14 and its 200 day moving average is $72.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.08 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 14.49%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

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.