O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 195.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 228,164 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 150,895 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $19,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $1,086,508,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 284.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth approximately $387,435,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in PayPal by 174.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,537,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Down 5.4 %

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $65.15 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $56.97 and a one year high of $93.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.90.

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

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PYPL. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus 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.