Cortland Associates Inc. MO Buys 20,976 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Cortland Associates Inc. MO boosted its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 450,602 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,976 shares during the quarter. PayPal makes up approximately 3.9% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Cortland Associates Inc. MO's holdings in PayPal were worth $30,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PYPL. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 115.0% during the third quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. American National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PYPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Argus downgraded shares of PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.47.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

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

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL stock traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.96. 14,190,444 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,031,016. The company's 50 day moving average price is $62.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.18. The company has a market cap of $69.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.25 and a 12 month high of $76.54. 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 (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 14.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal 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.

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