Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its position in PayPal by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 4,705 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of PayPal by 1.3% in the third quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 14,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,619 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New World Advisors LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 6,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of PYPL traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,614,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,277,821. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.93 and its 200 day moving average is $60.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $67.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.41. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.25 and a 12-month high of $76.54.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on PYPL shares. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.