Essex Financial Services Inc. Invests $249,000 in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Essex Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,290 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 77.5% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in PayPal by 1.9% during the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 18.6% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 3.1% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of PayPal by 65.8% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $72.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $75.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.42. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.25 and a 12 month high of $73.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The business had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on PayPal from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Eighteen 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.56.

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.