Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,392,309 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 295,952 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in PayPal were worth $118,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted 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. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 344.3% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PYPL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $69.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.56 and a 200-day moving average of $80.99. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.97 and a 12-month high of $93.66. The company has a market capitalization of $68.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.