Meridian Management Co. Grows Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Meridian Management Co. grew its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 3.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 84,284 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,947 shares during the quarter. PayPal makes up about 1.7% of Meridian Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Meridian Management Co.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $6,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 7.4% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust increased its stake in PayPal by 6.4% in the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 2,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in PayPal by 3.3% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 50.6% in the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust increased its stake in PayPal by 4.4% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,016 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Up 4.7 %

PayPal stock opened at $86.94 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.98 and a 52 week high of $87.47. The company has a market capitalization of $87.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.49.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.13. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The firm had revenue of $7.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PYPL shares. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Macquarie raised their price target on PayPal from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens raised their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.45.

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.