Lynx Investment Advisory Increases Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Lynx Investment Advisory boosted its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory’s holdings in PayPal were worth $302,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 113.8% during the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 7,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 3,976 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $387,435,000. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in PayPal by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 697,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $59,489,000 after buying an additional 18,172 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 33,302 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 120.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,555,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $125,461,000 after acquiring an additional 849,311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $70.19 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.43 billion, a PE 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. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.97 and a 12-month high of $93.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.92.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PYPL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. DZ Bank upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

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.