M&G Plc Boosts Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

M&G Plc increased its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc’s holdings in PayPal were worth $12,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in PayPal by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,939 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth about $875,000. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in PayPal by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 21,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY grew its holdings in PayPal by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 227,562 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,205,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $272,616.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on PYPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Monday, June 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $72.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.25.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $65.11 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.27. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.25 and a 52-week high of $70.66. The firm has a market cap of $68.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The company had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.