Smith Moore & CO. Trims Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Smith Moore & CO. trimmed its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,030 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 564 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,736,394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,849,884,000 after purchasing an additional 271,836 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,086,508,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in PayPal by 284.0% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $666,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,615,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $564,631,000 after acquiring an additional 84,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at $387,435,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $58.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.58. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.97 and a 1 year high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.13.

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.