PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Sold by Renaissance Group LLC

Renaissance Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 447,286 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 32,446 shares during the period. PayPal accounts for about 1.6% of Renaissance Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Renaissance Group LLC's holdings in PayPal were worth $38,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PYPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,086,508,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of PayPal by 284.0% in the 4th 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. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $361,316,000 after buying an additional 2,689,162 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,615,134,000 after buying an additional 2,161,582 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $135,537,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PYPL. Evercore ISI began coverage on PayPal in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Arete Research set a $81.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.32.

PayPal Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of PYPL traded up $2.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.59. 12,914,497 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,480,378. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.85 and a twelve month high of $93.66. The stock has a market cap of $61.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.