Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 452 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 4.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,063 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 452 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in PayPal were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $749,561,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of PayPal by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,976,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $428,449,000 after purchasing an additional 265,116 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,644,317 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $445,103,000 after purchasing an additional 904,804 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of PayPal by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,668,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $225,283,000 after purchasing an additional 61,384 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in PayPal by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,899,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,262,000 after purchasing an additional 687,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,323,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,263,198. The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.98 and its 200-day moving average is $62.15. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.25 and a 52 week high of $76.54. The firm has a market cap of $60.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28.

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). The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PYPL. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stephens upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Susquehanna raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.10.

PayPal 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.