Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Makes New Investment in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,640 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in PayPal by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 7,306 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its position in PayPal by 209.1% in the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 14,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 9,609 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 approximately $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL stock opened at $71.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $56.97 and a one year high of $93.66. The stock has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.05.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on PYPL shares. StockNews.com raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. DZ Bank raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.