PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,063 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 452 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in PayPal were worth $674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $272,616.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $861,620.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, New Street Research began coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, May 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.10.

PayPal Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.29. 11,323,434 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,263,198. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $60.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.42. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.25 and a 52-week high of $76.54.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results 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). PayPal had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.