Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Trims Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 215,459 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 8,181 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $18,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 7,306 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 209.1% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 14,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after buying an additional 9,609 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. Bank of America upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.03.

PayPal Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $71.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.05. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.97 and a 1-year high of $93.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About PayPal

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.