Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 402 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 604.7% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 53,076 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after purchasing an additional 45,544 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 44.6% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,235 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 21.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 18.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 234,147 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,686,000 after buying an additional 36,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Shipley& Co Ltd increased its position in shares of PayPal by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd now owns 51,372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,155,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Daiwa Capital Markets raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.56.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $71.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.02. The company has a market cap of $72.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.25 and a 1-year high of $74.40.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The firm had revenue of $7.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.