North Star Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

North Star Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,266 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 625 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $13,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of PayPal by 115.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.31. The stock had a trading volume of 13,177,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,214,834. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $50.25 and a one year high of $76.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.12. PayPal had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Mizuho cut their price target on PayPal from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on PayPal from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.47.

PayPal 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.