Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 12,730,025 PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,730,025 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,508,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.29% of PayPal at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in PayPal by 284.0% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $666,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $564,631,000 after purchasing an additional 84,337 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth about $387,435,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in PayPal by 174.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in PayPal by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,570,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $200,599,000 after buying an additional 106,435 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of PYPL opened at $68.86 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $76.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.97 and a 52 week high of $93.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.03.

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.