Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Cuts Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 7.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 146,090 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 11,989 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in PayPal were worth $9,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the first quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Up 1.1 %

PayPal stock opened at $58.94 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.14. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.25 and a 1-year high of $76.54. The company has a market cap of $61.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.24. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The company had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Susquehanna raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stephens upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, William Blair cut shares of PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value 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 $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.