Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,340,162 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 350,724 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $797,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. United Bank boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 9.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 8,941 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of PayPal by 23.1% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 41,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 7,812 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth about $359,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth about $582,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in PayPal by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 48,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,763,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $65.15 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. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.82. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.97 and a 12 month high of $93.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the subject of several research reports. Arete Research lowered shares of PayPal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.03.

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.