Focus Financial Network Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Focus Financial Network Inc. trimmed its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth $248,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,317,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 254.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 231,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,774,000 after buying an additional 166,342 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Down 5.3%

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $70.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.82. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $93.66. The company has a market capitalization of $68.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.17. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PYPL. DZ Bank raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on shares of PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of PayPal from $104.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.29.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total value of $277,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,020,248. The trade was a 21.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total value of $304,824.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 48,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,550,894.92. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,796 shares of company stock worth $863,028. Company insiders own 0.08% 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.