M&G Plc Invests $14.72 Million in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 219,622 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,715,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in PayPal by 190.5% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,098 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $436,000. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $802,000. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in PayPal by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC now owns 57,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth $304,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. William Blair downgraded PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna raised shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.82.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.33. 9,352,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,974,626. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.52 and its 200 day moving average is $62.19. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $50.25 and a one year high of $76.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $272,616.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $861,620.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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.