Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 25.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,031 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. American National Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management grew its position in shares of PayPal by 13,625.0% during the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PayPal by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Up 1.4 %

PYPL opened at $60.61 on Monday. 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 $63.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.46. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.25 and a 12 month high of $76.54.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, May 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.48.

PayPal Company 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.