Virtu Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 83.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,697 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,110 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,307,945,000 after buying an additional 7,767,072 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in PayPal by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,615,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $564,631,000 after purchasing an additional 84,337 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $387,435,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of PayPal by 174.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,570,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $200,599,000 after purchasing an additional 106,435 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Up 0.7 %

PYPL stock opened at $70.19 on Friday. 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 $69.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.86.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.