Bastion Asset Management Inc. Sells 18,612 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Bastion Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 43.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,230 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 18,612 shares during the period. Bastion Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Maia Wealth LLC grew its position in PayPal by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 6.2% during the third 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 during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 0.8% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 25,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its stake 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 worth $300,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value of $196,194.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,260.18. This trade represents a 9.99% 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 three months, insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised PayPal from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.61.

Trending Headlines about 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

PayPal Stock Up 2.2%

PayPal stock opened at $56.73 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.16. 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 $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. PayPal’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. PayPal’s payout ratio is currently 10.51%.

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.