Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of PayPal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after buying an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,043,000. S&CO Inc. purchased a new position in PayPal in the second quarter worth approximately $18,827,000. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in PayPal by 4.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,608,600 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $117,987,000 after acquiring an additional 121,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 705.2% during the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 100,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,876,000 after acquiring an additional 88,151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Takeover interest supports valuation. PayPal is reportedly in renewed sale discussions with a consortium involving Stripe and Advent International. The group previously submitted a bid of approximately $60.50 per share, while one analysis suggested a potential sale value of $70–$80 per share. PayPal reportedly in sale talks with consortium including Stripe and Advent PayPal Could Be Sold For $70-$80/Share
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see potential beyond PayPal’s checkout business. Piper Sandler raised its price target by more than 40% to $59, citing value in PayPal’s broader platform, although it retained a Neutral rating. Piper Sandler sees value beyond checkout
• Positive Sentiment: Operating trends remain mixed but constructive. Recent coverage points to total payment volume and Venmo growth, while PayPal’s latest reported quarter exceeded consensus estimates for earnings and revenue. Should You Buy, Sell or Hold PayPal Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: BNPL weakness has not materially spread to PayPal. Klarna’s outlook reduction triggered a sharp selloff in its shares, but PayPal and Affirm were described as largely shrugging off the news, suggesting limited immediate read-through for PayPal. Klarna craters on guidance cut while Affirm and PayPal shrug it off
• Negative Sentiment: Core checkout growth and competition remain concerns. Analysts cautioned that weak checkout expansion and pressure from rivals could undermine the turnaround, tempering the bullish impact of takeover rumors. TikTok’s exploration of peer-to-peer payments also highlights growing competition for digital-payment activity. TikTok explores peer-to-peer payments via direct messages

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on PayPal from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $46.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value of $196,194.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,260.18. This trade represents a 9.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 10,612 shares of company stock valued at $484,534 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $60.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $51.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.29. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.21.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is 10.59%.

PayPal Company 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.