Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Buys 1,783 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Park Place Capital Corp raised its stake in PayPal by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in PayPal by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Brave Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $69.75 on Tuesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.97 and a twelve month high of $93.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.