Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 2,966 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,601 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,966 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. American National Bank bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $272,616.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PYPL stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.82. 3,456,449 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,846,276. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.25 and a 52-week high of $76.54. The stock has a market cap of $62.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.42. 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’s fifty day moving average is $62.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.35.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.14). PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, June 13th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.82.

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.