Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 131,872 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 78.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 300,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 131,872 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $18,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 26,855 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,837 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $667,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,545 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 14,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.53.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $63.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.45. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.25 and a 52 week high of $76.54.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 14.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.