Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Purchases New Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,754 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of PayPal by 77.5% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank bought a new stake in PayPal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its position in PayPal by 65.8% in the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PayPal stock traded down $3.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,117,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,879,998. The stock has a market cap of $63.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.42. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $50.25 and a one year high of $70.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $272,616.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday. New Street Research started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.94.

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.