Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Sells 12,634 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lessened its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 169,185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 12,634 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in PayPal were worth $7,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in PayPal by 15,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total transaction of $536,170.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,687.32. This represents a 20.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $56.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Clear Str upgraded PayPal to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial cut their price target on PayPal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research upgraded PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.61.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Takeover chatter is the main catalyst, as reports say Stripe and Advent have put forward a multi-billion-dollar bid that could force a higher valuation for PayPal. Reuters: How PayPal went from Wall Street favorite to unwilling merger target
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators argue the offer may set a floor for PayPal’s value, which can support the stock if investors expect a better deal or competing interest. The Motley Fool: PayPal: Is Being Bought Out What’s Best for the Company Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades from Barclays and Clear Street add another supportive angle, suggesting some on Wall Street see improving upside despite the company’s challenges. American Banking News: PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded at Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal remains a heavily watched stock, but the “trending” coverage itself does not change fundamentals and may just reflect investor speculation ahead of earnings. Yahoo Finance: PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) Is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term earnings expectations are mixed, with Wall Street expecting a single-digit EPS decline next quarter, which keeps attention on fundamentals rather than just takeover headlines. Barchart: What to Expect From PayPal’s Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term articles highlight that PayPal has fallen from favor, faces stronger competition from Apple Pay, and is now being viewed as a takeover target rather than a market leader. Reuters: How PayPal went from Wall Street favorite to unwilling merger target

PayPal Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal’s platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal’s portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree’s developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.