ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,372,425 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 202,712 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of PayPal worth $117,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 7,470 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 3,976 shares during the period. J. Goldman & Co LP increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 261,322 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $22,304,000 after acquiring an additional 27,812 shares during the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its holdings in PayPal by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 697,077 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $59,489,000 after purchasing an additional 18,172 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 223.1% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 265,048 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $22,622,000 after buying an additional 183,011 shares during the period. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. grew its position in shares of PayPal by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 27,249 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 11,260 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Macquarie dropped their price target on shares of PayPal from $117.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. DZ Bank raised PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $92.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $110.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.68.

PayPal Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of PYPL traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,122,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,213,386. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 year high of $93.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $66.06 and its 200 day moving average is $77.34. The firm has a market cap of $70.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.51.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.17. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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.