Virtu Financial LLC Purchases 12,110 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 83.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,697 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,110 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Bank lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 794 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 21.1% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,499 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 13.2% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 27.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 289,735 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,608,000 after buying an additional 63,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,318 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $70.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.97 and a 52 week high of $93.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $78.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PYPL. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna raised their price target on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.