PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 44.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 104,820 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 82,674 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $4,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in PayPal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth $2,043,000. Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth $6,130,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in PayPal by 705.2% in the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 100,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,876,000 after buying an additional 88,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in PayPal by 76.0% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 54,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after buying an additional 23,516 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The reported takeover interest from Stripe and Advent has fueled speculation that PayPal could be worth more than the current offer, with several analysts and investors arguing the bid is too low. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary suggests the bid could force a higher valuation for PYPL, potentially supporting further upside if negotiations continue or a competing offer emerges. Yahoo Finance: Cantor sees potential for higher PayPal offer as analysis suggests $70/share value
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal’s board has reportedly not formally responded yet, so the deal is still early-stage and subject to negotiation, financing, and regulatory risk. Yahoo Finance weekly review
• Negative Sentiment: The board is said to view the $53 billion proposal as inadequate, which could mean a longer path to any deal or no deal at all if a higher price does not materialize. PYMNTS: PayPal Board Calls $53 Billion Stripe-Advent Bid Inadequate

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price target on PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on PayPal from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.61.

PayPal Trading Down 0.3%

PayPal stock opened at $56.56 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.46 and a 12-month high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.23.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value of $196,194.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,260.18. This represents a 9.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

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.