Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 1,204,905 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership decreased its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,787,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,204,905 shares during the quarter. PayPal comprises approximately 1.0% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in PayPal were worth $723,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service increased its holdings in PayPal by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,855,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $191,516,000 after buying an additional 51,268 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 164,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,058,000 after buying an additional 22,139 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in PayPal by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,292,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $291,338,000 after acquiring an additional 313,180 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal during the third quarter valued at $13,210,000. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd increased its position in shares of PayPal by 347.0% in the third quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 193,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,949,000 after purchasing an additional 149,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $45.53 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total transaction of $49,114.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,357.96. This represents a 75.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,993.40. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,304 shares of company stock worth $1,749,493. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PYPL. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PayPal from $70.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC lowered PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $93.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.03.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Preliminary takeover chatter (Stripe reportedly considering buying some or all of PayPal) triggered a surge, a trading halt and heavy volume — that event put a near-term bid under the stock and attracted options/call buying. Stripe weighs acquisition of PayPal (Proactive)
• Positive Sentiment: Follow-through market action: outsized call-option flow and elevated trading volume signaled institutional/speculative buyers betting on either a deal or continued re-rating, increasing short-term upside optionality. M&A News: PayPal Stock Soars (TipRanks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic/valuation analysis: several deep-dive pieces argue PayPal is materially undervalued on cash flow and asset value, outlining scenarios (sale, breakup, turnaround) that could justify higher prices — useful context but not an immediate catalyst without deal confirmation. PayPal’s Brutal Reset Hides A Cash Machine (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/operational coverage (FT): in‑depth pieces examine structural problems and the need for reinvention — informs long-term thesis but does not change near‑term outcome absent corporate action. What went wrong at PayPal (Financial Times)
• Negative Sentiment: Follow-up reporting cooled the buyout narrative: several outlets and PayPal-adjacent reporting said the company is not in active sale talks, which removed the immediate M&A bid and helped push shares lower. PayPal might not be looking to sell itself (TechCrunch)
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and disclosure pressure: multiple law firms and investor‑rights groups have filed/class‑action notices and launched investigations into PayPal’s disclosures and key metrics — these increase litigation risk, potential settlement costs, and investor uncertainty. Bragar Eagel & Squire reminder of class actions (GlobeNewswire)
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings/guidance and analyst pressure: recent Q4 results missed some estimates and management gave cautious 2026 guidance; analysts have been cautious (including a recent sell/negative view), which keeps downward pressure until execution improves. PYPL Falls Despite Earnings Growth (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/market structure risks: a disclosure probe and rising short interest magnify volatility and downside risk if no deal materializes or guidance disappoints. Investigation into metrics/disclosures (PR Newswire)

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.