Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 10,663 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,056,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 10,663 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.10% of PayPal worth $64,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in PayPal by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $65.96. The company had a trading volume of 14,190,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,031,016. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.25 and a 1-year high of $76.54. The firm has a market cap of $69.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.12. PayPal had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PYPL. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (down from $118.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. DZ Bank lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.47.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total transaction of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.