Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $24.32 Million Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 73.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 537,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,523,065 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of PayPal worth $24,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Maia Wealth LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 2.5% in the third 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 period. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.2% in the third quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its position 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 worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 0.8% during 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 period. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 3.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PYPL. UBS Group lowered PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned 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 $55.01.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Adjusted earnings reached $1.38 per share versus the $1.28 consensus, while revenue rose 4.8% year over year to $8.68 billion, ahead of the $8.47 billion estimate. PayPal’s Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on TPV & Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Payment activity remained healthy: Total payment volume increased 10% to $486.4 billion, payment transactions rose 8% to 6.8 billion, and growth at Venmo and Braintree supported the quarter. PayPal also generated $1.8 billion in free cash flow and repurchased approximately 33 million shares. PayPal Q2 revenue rises 5% to $8.7 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year outlook was raised: PayPal now expects 2026 adjusted EPS of approximately $5.38, improving investor confidence that cost reductions and the turnaround under CEO Enrique Lores are beginning to take hold. PayPal presses with turnaround as sale questions linger
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover speculation remains a catalyst: Management provided no definitive update on reported interest from Stripe and Advent International. PayPal appears open to a higher offer than the reported roughly $53 billion proposal, leaving potential deal-related upside but also uncertainty. PayPal leaves the door open to a higher takeover offer
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and near-term growth remain concerns: Higher investments weighed on margins, GAAP net income declined year over year, and branded checkout growth was only about 2%. Investors also viewed third-quarter guidance as soft, while analysts maintained Hold ratings pending stronger checkout momentum and evidence that cost savings can offset competitive pressure. PayPal delivers Q2 earnings beat but soft Q3 guidance

PayPal Stock Up 4.0%

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $58.32 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $51.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.02.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value of $196,194.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,768,260.18. This trade represents a 9.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,762.57. The trade was 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 sold 8,543 shares of company stock worth $364,325 over the last quarter. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PayPal 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.