AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,341,004 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 79.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,025,173 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,341,004 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.31% of PayPal worth $258,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in PayPal by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,462,251 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $892,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669,908 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in PayPal by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,011,752 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $257,053,000 after buying an additional 1,253,652 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $115,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 189,060 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $16,136,000 after acquiring an additional 20,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $916,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PYPL. Macquarie lowered their price objective on PayPal from $117.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.77.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL traded up $1.83 on Friday, reaching $67.24. The company had a trading volume of 10,075,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,003,603. The company has a market capitalization of $65.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.89 and a 200-day moving average of $78.20. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.