PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 65.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,123,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,035,268 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.58% of PayPal worth $231,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its position in PayPal by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 87,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 376,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,020,000 after buying an additional 31,855 shares during the period. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the first quarter worth about $384,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the first quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 24.4% in the first quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 11,953 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Barclays upgraded PayPal from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on PayPal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.61.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that PayPal rejected a $53 billion takeover bid because the board believes the company is worth more are fueling takeover premium speculation for PayPal (PYPL). PayPal Rejected a $53 Billion Takeover Bid: Is the Stock Undervalued?
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary says PayPal could still be undervalued despite the bid, citing strategic assets like Venmo, PYUSD, and improving operating trends. PayPal Says a $53 Billion Takeover Offer from Stripe Undervalues It. How to Play PYPL Stock Here.
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst remained on the sidelines despite the takeover chatter, suggesting investors are still waiting for clearer evidence that a deal or turnaround will materialize. Analyst Stays on Sidelines for PYPL Despite Stripe, Advent Buyout Offer
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal also faces a near-term earnings backdrop that some previews say could be softer, which may limit upside if the company does not deliver a strong quarter. Earnings Preview: Paypal (PYPL) Q2 Earnings Expected to Decline
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term coverage still highlights slowing growth and stronger competition, which is why the stock remains vulnerable if the takeover narrative fades. How PayPal went from Wall Street favorite to unwilling merger target

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at $78,443.56. This trade represents a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total transaction of $196,194.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,768,260.18. This represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623 over the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PayPal Stock Down 0.6%

PayPal stock opened at $55.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.97 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

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

PayPal Announces Dividend

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

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.