Primecap Management Co. CA Grows Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in PayPal by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, now owning approximately 5.97 million shares valued at $389.79 million.
• Insider sales included CAO Chris Natali and EVP Diego Scotti, with total insider sales amounting to approximately $1.62 million over the last three months.
• PayPal's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $84.57 following earnings that exceeded estimates.

Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,973,810 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,004 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.61% of PayPal worth $389,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in PayPal by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,221,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,625,976,000 after buying an additional 276,339 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in PayPal by 108.2% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 9,313,783 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in PayPal by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,462,251 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $892,953,000 after buying an additional 1,669,908 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in PayPal by 44.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,559,376 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $558,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,638,815 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in PayPal by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,283,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $707,032,000 after purchasing an additional 144,402 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 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 transaction of $304,824.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 48,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,550,894.92. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total value of $277,035.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,020,248. This represents a 21.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,736 shares of company stock worth $1,620,835. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PayPal Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of PayPal stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,902,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,024,427. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $66.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.42. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $93.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.98.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $75.00 price objective on PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on PayPal from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.57.

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.