PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stake Lifted by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,147 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in PayPal by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC raised its position in PayPal by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in PayPal by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 2,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $76.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $75.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.06. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.97 and a twelve month high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PYPL. Bank of America upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on PayPal from $90.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.52.

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.