Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires New Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 36,499 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,115,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 113.8% during the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 7,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $387,435,000. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its holdings in PayPal by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 697,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $59,489,000 after purchasing an additional 18,172 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 33,302 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 7,291 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in PayPal by 120.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,555,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $125,461,000 after purchasing an additional 849,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.03.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $70.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $69.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.97 and a 12 month high of $93.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.89.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.