PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lessened its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 73.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 261,828 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s holdings in PayPal were worth $4,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its holdings in PayPal by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 17,388 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 4,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in PayPal by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares in the last quarter. 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: Takeover chatter is the main catalyst, as reports say Stripe and Advent have put forward a multi-billion-dollar bid that could force a higher valuation for PayPal. Reuters: How PayPal went from Wall Street favorite to unwilling merger target
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators argue the offer may set a floor for PayPal’s value, which can support the stock if investors expect a better deal or competing interest. The Motley Fool: PayPal: Is Being Bought Out What’s Best for the Company Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades from Barclays and Clear Street add another supportive angle, suggesting some on Wall Street see improving upside despite the company’s challenges. American Banking News: PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded at Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal remains a heavily watched stock, but the “trending” coverage itself does not change fundamentals and may just reflect investor speculation ahead of earnings. Yahoo Finance: PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) Is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term earnings expectations are mixed, with Wall Street expecting a single-digit EPS decline next quarter, which keeps attention on fundamentals rather than just takeover headlines. Barchart: What to Expect From PayPal’s Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term articles highlight that PayPal has fallen from favor, faces stronger competition from Apple Pay, and is now being viewed as a takeover target rather than a market leader. Reuters: How PayPal went from Wall Street favorite to unwilling merger target

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PayPal news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total transaction of $196,194.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,260.18. The trade was a 9.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total transaction of $66,128.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on PayPal from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.61.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $56.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.13. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33.

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

PayPal Dividend Announcement

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

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.