Candriam S.C.A. Trims Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 10,361 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $12,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 86.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,945,000 after purchasing an additional 7,767,072 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 12,919.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $819,315,000 after purchasing an additional 10,419,351 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PayPal by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,615,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $564,631,000 after purchasing an additional 84,337 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in PayPal by 21.6% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,015,816 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $469,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $387,435,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL opened at $70.48 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.75 and a 200-day moving average of $81.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.97 and a 12-month high of $93.66. 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 (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.03.

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.