S&CO Inc. Increases Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• S&CO Inc. has increased its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. by 3.6%, bringing its total holdings to 187,119 shares, valued at approximately $12.2 million.
• Insider trading activity included Director Deborah M. Messemer selling 3,795 shares for about $277,035, reducing her ownership by 21.36%.
• Analysts have varied ratings on PayPal, with a consensus of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.13, following recent adjustments from major firms.

S&CO Inc. boosted its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,119 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,501 shares during the quarter. S&CO Inc.'s holdings in PayPal were worth $12,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Security National Bank of SO Dak grew its position in shares of PayPal by 1.1% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position 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 period. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in PayPal by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,208 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. DMC Group LLC raised its position in PayPal by 2.0% in the first quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 7,948 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,839 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total value of $281,168.36. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total value 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. This represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,796 shares of company stock worth $863,028 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.57.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL stock traded down $1.65 on Friday, reaching $67.11. The company had a trading volume of 14,892,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,250,775. The company has a market cap of $64.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company's fifty day moving average is $73.20 and its 200 day moving average is $72.55. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 year high of $93.66.

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. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 14.49%. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.