HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 3,412 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 484,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $41,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natural Investments LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $233,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Eos Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,000,000. Miller Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $723,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in PayPal by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 17,294 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PayPal Trading Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $66.91 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.97 and a 12 month high of $93.66. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $66.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.90.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.03.

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.