Weiss Asset Management LP Has $2.37 Million Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Weiss Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 80.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,380 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,392 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delta Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the first quarter valued at $2,079,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the first quarter worth $8,738,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC raised its position in PayPal by 79.5% during the first quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 72,011 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,257,000 after acquiring an additional 31,896 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in PayPal by 5.5% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 406,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,400,000 after acquiring an additional 21,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in PayPal by 32.1% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,274 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Securities upgraded PayPal from Sell to Hold and raised its price target to $57 from $44, signaling improved confidence in the stock and helping sentiment around PYPL. Article: Benzinga report on Truist upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Stripe and Advent International have approached PayPal with a $53 billion takeover bid have fueled speculation that PYPL could be worth more in a deal, boosting investor interest. Article: Yahoo Finance takeover report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are pricing in about an 8.8% swing around next week’s earnings, indicating elevated expectations and potential volatility rather than a clear directional view. Article: TipRanks earnings volatility report
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts say investors are focused on TPV growth, platform expansion, margins, and competition heading into earnings, with macro uncertainty still clouding the outlook. Article: Zacks preview
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal remains a low-valuation name by market standards, with investors noting its roughly 11x earnings multiple and ongoing share repurchases as support for long-term value. Article: 24/7 Wall St. valuation note

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on PayPal from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total transaction of $536,170.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,687.32. The trade was a 20.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623 in the last three months. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL stock opened at $56.15 on Monday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $38.46 and a one year high of $79.50. The stock has a market cap of $49.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

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