QRG Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 146,877 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $8,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the third quarter worth $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Dagco Inc. raised its position in shares of PayPal by 1,250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $621,960.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,837.66. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,443.56. This trade represents a 45.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 99,677 shares of company stock worth $4,433,834. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PYPL. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore cut their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Argus reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on PayPal from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.55.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL opened at $46.49 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.39. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.31 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.35%.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — PayPal reported adjusted EPS of $1.34 versus $1.27 expected and revenue of ~$8.35B with TPV up ~11%, signaling platform momentum. PYPL Q1 beat (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Management is pushing an AI/tech refocus that could improve product competitiveness and efficiency over time. PayPal AI and tech strategy (TechCrunch)
• Neutral Sentiment: Planned $1.5B cost reduction and reorganization into three business units — potentially margin‑accretive long term, but disruptive near term. $1.5B cuts (PYMNTS)
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity (notable call buying) suggests some traders are betting on a rebound, increasing short‑term volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Weak near‑term guidance — PayPal signaled an expected ~9% decline in non‑GAAP EPS next quarter, steeper than analysts had modeled, which was the main catalyst for the selloff. Soft guidance (Proactive Investors)
• Negative Sentiment: User engagement/checkout growth concerns — commentary that checkout momentum is slowing and user growth has stalled increased investor anxiety about top‑line sustainability. User growth stalls (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pressure and ratings actions — several firms reiterated sell/negative views after the report, amplifying the down‑move. Analyst reiterations (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: Layoff and restructuring headlines increased uncertainty and spooked investors, contributing to heavy intraday selling and above‑average volume. Layoffs and market reaction (Bloomberg Tech clip)

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.