Gradient Investments LLC Has $23.04 Million Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 397,099 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,242 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $23,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth $749,561,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in PayPal by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,976,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,449,000 after buying an additional 265,116 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,644,317 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $445,103,000 after buying an additional 904,804 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,668,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,283,000 after acquiring an additional 61,384 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,899,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,262,000 after acquiring an additional 687,940 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $272,616.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,620.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ PYPL traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.96. 9,526,778 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,486,054. The firm has a market cap of $71.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.25 and a 1-year high of $70.66.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PYPL. StockNews.com upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on PayPal from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, May 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.25.

PayPal 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.