Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd Takes $81.34 Million Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 953,036 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $81,342,000. PayPal accounts for approximately 5.0% of Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd owned about 0.10% of PayPal at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 2,067 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Trading Up 1.6 %

PayPal stock opened at $70.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $69.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.89. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.97 and a 52 week high of $93.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.