PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the forty-five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirty-two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.0135.

A number of research firms have issued reports on PYPL. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal joined the European Payments Council, a move that could strengthen its role in shaping European payment rules and support long-term growth in the region. PayPal Stock (PYPL) Pops 3% on Joining EU Payments Council
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted PayPal’s EPC membership as a strategic step toward influencing the future of European payments and instant-transfer infrastructure. PayPal Secures EPC Seat to Help Guide Future of European Payments
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity included cheap out-of-the-money July 10 calls in PYPL, suggesting speculative trading interest rather than a clear fundamental catalyst. Five July 4th Fireworks: Unusual Options Activity Flags Cheap Lottery-Ticket Calls in CHWY, AVGO, PYPL, STLA and WMT
• Neutral Sentiment: A shareholder litigation firm said it is investigating PayPal’s officers and directors for possible fiduciary-duty issues, but this is only an early-stage legal probe and not a formal case. Kuehn Law Encourages Investors of PayPal Holdings, Inc. to Contact Law Firm

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $45.47 on Friday. PayPal has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $40.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.00.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business 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 was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,443.56. This trade represents a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 PayPal 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 sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This trade 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 worth $966,623 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its position in PayPal by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 25,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its position in PayPal by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

About PayPal

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.