PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Position Cut by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 11.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,863 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. bought a new position in PayPal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,108,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in PayPal by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,633 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 25,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 7,653 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 129,262 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,434,000 after buying an additional 14,632 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $70.83 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $68.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.82. 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 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $93.66. The company has a market cap of $68.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.45.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total transaction of $281,168.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,244,274.36. The trade was a 18.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $277,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,020,248. This trade represents a 21.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,796 shares of company stock valued at $863,028 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Wall Street Zen raised PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on PayPal from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Evercore ISI started coverage on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on PayPal from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.29.

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.