Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Buys New Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 324,261 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,676,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PYPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in PayPal by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in PayPal by 284.0% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $666,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares in the last quarter. 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, FMR LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161,582 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $71.48 on Wednesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $93.66. The stock has a market cap of $69.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.97.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.17. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PYPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $104.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.68.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.