Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 94,821 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 66.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,597 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 94,821 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $3,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in PayPal by 108.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 284.0% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $666,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,462,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $892,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669,908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $73.55 on Tuesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $93.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.17. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PYPL. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $110.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,839 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total value of $281,168.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,244,274.36. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $277,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,020,248. This trade represents a 21.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,796 shares of company stock worth $863,028 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About PayPal

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.