New England Research & Management Inc. Sells 1,900 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

New England Research & Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 17.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,755 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. American National Bank bought a new position in PayPal in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PYPL. New Street Research began coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.64.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $58.03 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $50.25 and a one year high of $76.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.14). PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $272,616.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Company 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.