PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Bought by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 284.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (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 makes up about 1.0% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest 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 hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PYPL. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in PayPal by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,629,497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $142,744,000 after purchasing an additional 94,953 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 862,393 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $73,605,000 after buying an additional 181,847 shares in the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $828,000. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at about $321,000. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $69.97 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.85. The firm has a market cap of $69.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.97 and a 12 month high of $93.66. 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 (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The business 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%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PYPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America raised shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.