Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Has $364,000 Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 537.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. PayPal comprises approximately 1.3% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price target on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.47.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total transaction of $466,079.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PayPal Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL traded up $1.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.43. 9,897,597 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,395,941. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.04. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.25 and a 52-week high of $76.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $67.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.45.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.12. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.04 earnings per share 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.