First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 4,434 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 23.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,463 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,434 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. American National Bank acquired a new stake in PayPal in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the first quarter worth $30,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL traded up $0.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $59.64. The company had a trading volume of 6,908,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,210,254. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.25 and a fifty-two week high of $76.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 14.26%. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PYPL. Citigroup upped their target price on PayPal from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $272,616.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.