RD Finance Ltd Reduces Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

RD Finance Ltd trimmed its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,333 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,332 shares during the period. PayPal accounts for about 1.0% of RD Finance Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. RD Finance Ltd’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Dagco Inc. lifted 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 period. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus dropped their target price 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. Zacks Research raised shares of PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Compass Point raised shares of PayPal from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.42.

PayPal Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $45.37 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.50. The stock has a market cap of $40.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.75 and a 200 day moving average of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. PayPal’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,076,687.32. This trade represents a 20.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total transaction 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 represents a 45.74% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,199 shares of company stock worth $4,294,018. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts still see value in the stock, with RBC and Daiwa assigning upbeat ratings, and commentary arguing PayPal may be cheap enough that expectations are already low.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings showed a beat on both EPS and revenue, suggesting the core business is still growing and executing better than expected.
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Hold rating, reflecting a wait-and-see stance rather than a strong bullish or bearish call.
• Negative Sentiment: Macquarie downgraded PayPal to Neutral and cut its price target, citing a softer second-quarter outlook and a cost-saving plan that appears back-end loaded. Macquarie Downgrades PayPal as Cost-Saving Plan Looks Too Back-End Loaded
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America also lowered its price target and kept a Neutral rating, adding to the cautious analyst tone around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority launched a competition probe into PayPal’s wallet funding and usage practices, raising regulatory uncertainty in an important international market. FCA Probe Tests PayPal’s UK Wallet Economics And Growth Narrative
• Negative Sentiment: Several recent articles argue that the market was not impressed by PayPal’s earnings beat, with investors focusing instead on slower growth expectations, competitive pressures, and margin concerns.

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.