Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 1,136,947 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 93.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,358,408 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,136,947 shares during the period. PayPal accounts for 0.9% of Bridgewater Associates LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.24% of PayPal worth $201,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its position in PayPal by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 54,394 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,643,000 after buying an additional 1,549 shares during the last quarter. Schwerin Boyle Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in PayPal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Schwerin Boyle Capital Management Inc. now owns 78,424 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,693,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $399,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,739,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth $4,960,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Stock Up 1.3 %

PYPL traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.00. The company had a trading volume of 9,020,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,483,897. The company has a market capitalization of $60.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $93.66. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $68.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.17.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS 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 net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.84.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.