Essex LLC Decreases Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Essex LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,418 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,880 shares during the quarter. Essex LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,636,644 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $501,184,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in PayPal by 28.1% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,511,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $493,907,000 after buying an additional 1,866,925 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 180.7% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,946,460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $287,043,000 after acquiring an additional 3,184,160 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 14.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,166,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $183,789,000 after acquiring an additional 409,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in PayPal by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 3,046,502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,789,000 after purchasing an additional 146,643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $80.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.16 and a 200-day moving average of $66.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.25 and a 52 week high of $82.00.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The firm had revenue of $7.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PYPL. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Stephens lifted their price objective on PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.03.

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.