PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Acquired by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,615 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,744 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc raised its position in shares of PayPal by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 4,705 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.3% in the third quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 14,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in PayPal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,619 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its stake in PayPal by 18.6% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $272,616.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.64. The stock had a trading volume of 6,908,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,210,254. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.39. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.25 and a fifty-two week high of $76.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $62.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.82.

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.