Costello Asset Management INC Lowers Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC sold 40.9% of its stake in PayPal during the first quarter, reducing its holdings to 11,427 shares valued at approximately $746,000.
• PayPal's stock rose 1.3%, with the current market cap at $64.98 billion and a P/E ratio of 14.53.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a EPS of $1.40, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.30, with revenue of $8.29 billion beating estimates of $8.08 billion.

Costello Asset Management INC lowered its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 40.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,427 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 7,893 shares during the quarter. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in PayPal were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 726.0% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 413 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in PayPal during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its stake in PayPal by 81.6% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 445 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 7,102 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $492,523.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,839 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total transaction of $281,168.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,989 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,736 shares of company stock valued at $1,620,835. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

PayPal Stock Down 0.3%

PYPL stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.83. 10,704,199 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,926,610. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.33 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $73.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.01. The company has a market cap of $64.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.08 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.49% and a return on equity of 25.35%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PYPL. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of PayPal from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.57.

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.