Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,222,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,361 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of PayPal worth $104,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 12,919.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $819,315,000 after purchasing an additional 10,419,351 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 86.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,307,945,000 after purchasing an additional 7,767,072 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the third quarter worth about $387,435,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in PayPal by 174.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 9,864.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,119,262 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $87,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,030 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.52.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $78.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $77.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $86.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.45. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.97 and a 1-year high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

PayPal 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.