S&CO Inc. Grows Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

S&CO Inc. grew its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,618 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the quarter. PayPal comprises approximately 1.0% of S&CO Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $15,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $966,000. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 53,811 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,593,000 after buying an additional 11,860 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at $416,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in PayPal by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 716,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,111,000 after purchasing an additional 250,955 shares during the period. Finally, Dundas Partners LLP lifted its position in PayPal by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 2,207 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $68.16 on Tuesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.97 and a 12-month high of $93.66. The stock has a market cap of $67.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.40 and a 200 day moving average of $81.11.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PYPL. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.