Gradient Investments LLC Purchases 33,263 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 378,857 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 33,263 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in PayPal were worth $25,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PYPL. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in PayPal by 5.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 478,411 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,968,000 after acquiring an additional 24,231 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in PayPal by 41.2% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 32,119 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 9,377 shares during the last quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 2.2% during the third quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,361 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 5,036 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL traded down $1.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.70. 15,435,157 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,651,739. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $63.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.50. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.25 and a 52-week high of $76.54. The company has a market cap of $68.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.14). PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,420,795.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PYPL. Citigroup dropped their target price on PayPal from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. JMP Securities upped their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on PayPal from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Twenty-five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.73.

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.

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