Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,870 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of PayPal by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 10,076 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 864,827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,109,000 after acquiring an additional 140,004 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 4,585 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $242,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PYPL opened at $65.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.25 and a 12-month high of $76.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.41.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 14.26%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on PayPal from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.73.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total transaction of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.