Sound Shore Management Inc CT Sells 317,379 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Sound Shore Management Inc CT reduced its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 22.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,069,187 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 317,379 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc CT’s holdings in PayPal were worth $71,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PayPal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $921,570,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.6% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 11,992,031 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $891,248,000 after buying an additional 184,014 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 5.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,038,584 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $746,068,000 after buying an additional 522,514 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of PayPal by 9.5% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,542,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $486,235,000 after acquiring an additional 568,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in PayPal by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,522,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $484,771,000 after acquiring an additional 103,718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $40.49 on Thursday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.88 and a 12-month high of $79.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.91 and a 200 day moving average of $63.59.

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

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total transaction of $249,054.08. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,022.72. This trade represents a 11.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,993.40. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Dbs Bank upgraded PayPal to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens lowered their price target on PayPal from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $42.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.03.

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.