Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 562,201 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,134 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of PayPal worth $47,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in PayPal by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in PayPal by 284.0% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $666,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in PayPal by 174.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,615,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161,582 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.18. 8,703,318 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,251,938. 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 firm has a market cap of $70.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.51. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $65.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.40. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.84 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company's stock, 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 this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $104.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Arete Research set a $81.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $110.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.68.

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.