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

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 241,873 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 8,691 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $14,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in PayPal by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 4,705 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 14,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of PayPal by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,619 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New World Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PayPal by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 6,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL stock traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.70. 15,435,157 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,651,739. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap 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 Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.25 and a fifty-two week high of $76.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.56.

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 return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PayPal from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on PayPal from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.73.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.