Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 61.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,871 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,094 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 115.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 609 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Performance

PayPal stock traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,190,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,223,340. The firm has a market cap of $69.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.25 and a twelve month high of $76.54.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm 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%. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,795.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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