36,977 Shares in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Acquired by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 36,977 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,043,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in PayPal in the second quarter valued at $97,372,000. S&CO Inc. bought a new position in PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth $18,827,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in PayPal by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,608,600 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $117,987,000 after purchasing an additional 121,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 705.2% during the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 100,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,876,000 after buying an additional 88,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal’s expansion into tuition payments could support future growth. Integrations with Nelnet Campus Commerce, Illumia and TouchNet allow students and families to use PayPal and Venmo for tuition-related payments, broadening Venmo’s commercial use. PayPal Holdings Tuition Payment Push
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $1.38 versus consensus of $1.28 and revenue of approximately $8.68 billion versus estimates of $8.47 billion. Total payment volume reportedly increased 10% year over year, while analysts have raised some price targets and investors continue to view the new CEO transition as a possible turnaround opportunity. Why Is PayPal Up Since Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent momentum had been strong, with PayPal gaining about 10% over the past month and 39% over three months, although its one-year total return remained negative. The stock’s valuation—roughly 12 times earnings—may attract value investors, but reported analyst targets vary widely and several remain below the current trading level. PayPal Opinions on Earnings and Acquisition Speculation
• Negative Sentiment: The reported collapse of the Advent-Stripe discussions eliminates hopes for a deal premium. The consortium had previously been linked to an offer of at least $60.50 per share, with negotiations reportedly focused on a higher bid. Without that proposal, investors may refocus on PayPal’s slower revenue growth and execution risks. Advent Stripe Consortium Drops PayPal Pursuit

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PYPL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on PayPal from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $45.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.28.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $61.47 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.07. The firm has a market cap of $52.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.30.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 14.36%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total transaction of $77,679.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $128,749.60. This represents a 37.63% 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 Frank Keller sold 732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total value of $42,529.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,042.70. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,774 shares of company stock worth $738,249. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.