Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Boosts Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 284.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares during the quarter. PayPal accounts for 1.0% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.79% of PayPal worth $666,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in PayPal by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 344.3% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL traded down $3.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.15. The stock had a trading volume of 16,521,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,225,267. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $76.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.82. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $56.97 and a one year high of $93.66.

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PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $92.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.03.

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.