Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $9.27 Million Investment in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 150,900 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,267,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PYPL. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 110,462.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,136,071 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,220,431,000 after acquiring an additional 17,120,572 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,022,333,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,230,481 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $720,555,000 after buying an additional 3,424,122 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 36.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 10,771,095 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $718,755,000 after buying an additional 2,862,766 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in PayPal by 420.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,238,980 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $190,371,000 after buying an additional 2,616,774 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Performance

PayPal stock traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.59. 9,933,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,310,660. The stock has a market cap of $67.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.25 and a 52-week high of $77.95. The firm's 50 day moving average is $62.12 and its 200 day moving average is $59.77.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 20.84%. PayPal's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Argus downgraded shares of PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PayPal news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total transaction of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.