PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Position Cut by HBW Advisory Services LLC

HBW Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 87.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,709 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 32,270 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in PayPal by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 17,388 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 4,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at $78,443.56. The trade was a 45.74% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal surged after reports that Stripe and Advent made a $53 billion acquisition offer at $60.50 per share, creating a takeover premium and boosting investor optimism. Reuters: Stripe, Advent offer to buy PayPal for more than $53 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors are arguing the bid undervalues PayPal, with some estimates pointing to a higher fair value around $70 a share or more, which keeps takeover speculation alive. Article: Cantor sees potential for higher PayPal offer as analysis suggests $70/share value
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $55 and Canaccord lifted its target to $55, signaling some improvement in outlook, though both targets remain below the recent trading level. Article: Paypal (PYPL) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal’s board is reportedly viewing the Stripe-Advent proposal as inadequate, suggesting negotiations could continue and the final outcome is still uncertain. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and financing hurdles could complicate or delay any deal, which may temper some of the takeover enthusiasm if no quick resolution emerges. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PYPL. Bank of America decreased their price target on PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.61.

PayPal Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $56.73 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.16. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.46 and a fifty-two week high of $79.50. The firm has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

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