Sapient Capital LLC Invests $806,000 in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 115.0% during the third quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $33,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PYPL. StockNews.com lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on PayPal from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Down 1.9 %

PYPL traded down $1.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.70. 15,435,157 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,651,739. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.25 and a 12-month high of $76.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.41.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.14). PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.13 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.