First Western Trust Bank Raises Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

First Western Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,413 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,976 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $387,435,000. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 223.1% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 265,048 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $22,622,000 after buying an additional 183,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. grew its position in PayPal by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 27,249 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after buying an additional 11,260 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Down 8.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $61.71 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.61. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.97 and a 1 year high of $93.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PYPL. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Arete Research set a $81.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $104.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.13.

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.