California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 133,033 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,672,668 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 133,033 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in PayPal were worth $142,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth $1,086,508,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 284.0% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $666,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth about $387,435,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in PayPal by 174.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $135,537,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $65.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $64.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.90. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.97 and a 12 month high of $93.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.