Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 49,636 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Edgestream Partners L.P. cut its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 56.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,631 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 49,636 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the first quarter worth about $660,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 5,246 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. IFS Group LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $336,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 273.2% during the first quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,804 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 18,158 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in PayPal by 28.1% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 25,884 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of PayPal to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on PayPal from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on PayPal from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.67.

PayPal Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $57.87 on Tuesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.03.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.59%.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal’s recent quarterly results showed adjusted earnings of $1.38 per share versus the $1.28 consensus estimate, while revenue reached approximately $8.68 billion, ahead of expectations and up 4.8% year over year. Investor attention has also focused on progress in Venmo monetization and Braintree expansion. PayPal Stock Opinions on Q2 Earnings and Analyst Downgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Speculation that Stripe and Advent could bid for PayPal continues to support the shares by raising the possibility of an acquisition premium, although no transaction has been confirmed. Market participants are also discussing who else might emerge as a potential bidder. Who Else Could Make a Bid for PayPal?
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal led the financial sector’s July performance with an approximately 30% rally, reflecting improving investor confidence in the company’s turnaround and earnings trajectory. Financial Sector Tops the S&P 500 in July
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its PayPal price target from $54 to $60 but maintained a neutral rating. The new target suggests limited additional upside from the current trading level, indicating that valuation has moved closer to the analyst’s expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical analysts warn that the recent rally has pushed PayPal’s relative strength index into overbought territory, increasing the risk of a pause or pullback even as fundamental momentum improves. PayPal Shares Pause as Turnaround Momentum Collides With Overbought RSI
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about recession resilience: a comparison with American Express argues that PayPal’s fintech model may be less defensive in an economic downturn. Separate investor discussion also highlighted a Morgan Stanley underweight rating and a lower price target. Which Financial Stock Would Hold Up Better in a Recession?

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% 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 Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value of $196,194.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,768,260.18. This represents a 9.99% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 10,612 shares of company stock valued at $484,534. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

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.