Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $24.32 Million Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 73.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 537,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,523,065 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $24,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 6.2% during the third quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 0.8% during the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 25,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its position in PayPal by 3.3% during the first quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $58.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $51.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.46 and a 12-month high of $79.21.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PYPL. UBS Group cut shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial upgraded shares of PayPal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $44.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $50.00 price target on PayPal in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upgraded PayPal from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $196,194.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing 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, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,543 shares of company stock worth $364,325. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Adjusted earnings reached $1.38 per share versus the $1.28 consensus, while revenue rose 4.8% year over year to $8.68 billion, ahead of the $8.47 billion estimate. PayPal’s Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on TPV & Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Payment activity remained healthy: Total payment volume increased 10% to $486.4 billion, payment transactions rose 8% to 6.8 billion, and growth at Venmo and Braintree supported the quarter. PayPal also generated $1.8 billion in free cash flow and repurchased approximately 33 million shares. PayPal Q2 revenue rises 5% to $8.7 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year outlook was raised: PayPal now expects 2026 adjusted EPS of approximately $5.38, improving investor confidence that cost reductions and the turnaround under CEO Enrique Lores are beginning to take hold. PayPal presses with turnaround as sale questions linger
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover speculation remains a catalyst: Management provided no definitive update on reported interest from Stripe and Advent International. PayPal appears open to a higher offer than the reported roughly $53 billion proposal, leaving potential deal-related upside but also uncertainty. PayPal leaves the door open to a higher takeover offer
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and near-term growth remain concerns: Higher investments weighed on margins, GAAP net income declined year over year, and branded checkout growth was only about 2%. Investors also viewed third-quarter guidance as soft, while analysts maintained Hold ratings pending stronger checkout momentum and evidence that cost savings can offset competitive pressure. PayPal delivers Q2 earnings beat but soft Q3 guidance

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.