PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. decreased its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 19,163 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in PayPal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,276,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,043,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in PayPal by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,608,600 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $117,987,000 after purchasing an additional 121,400 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 705.2% in the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 100,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,876,000 after purchasing an additional 88,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 76.0% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 54,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 23,516 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PYPL. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.72.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venmo growth supports the recovery story. Venmo’s total payment volume is growing at a mid-teens rate, giving PayPal an important source of transaction growth. Increasing adoption of products such as payments, credit and other monetization tools could help convert that activity into faster revenue growth. PayPal’s Venmo: Can Monetization Sustain Its Mid-Teens Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings and operational improvements remain supportive. PayPal reported quarterly earnings of $1.38 per share, ahead of the $1.28 consensus estimate, while revenue of $8.68 billion also exceeded expectations. Commentary highlighting improvements under CEO Enrique Lores and PayPal’s strong July performance has reinforced the view that the company may be stabilizing after a difficult period. Jim Cramer Examines PayPal Holdings Performance Under Enrique Lores and M&A Speculation
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and M&A speculation are influencing sentiment. Analysts and commentators are debating whether PayPal remains undervalued following its recent share-price gains. Reported speculation about a potential buyout proposal has added an additional catalyst, but there is no confirmed transaction, making this a source of volatility rather than a firm fundamental driver. Is PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Undervalued After Earnings And Its Recent Share Price Jump?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about monetization and the sustainability of growth. Venmo’s strong payment-volume expansion will not necessarily produce comparable revenue growth unless PayPal can increase product usage and monetization. After the stock’s sharp recent advance, any evidence that revenue conversion or profitability is lagging expectations could limit further upside. PayPal’s Venmo: Can Monetization Sustain Its Mid-Teens Growth?

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total value of $77,679.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $128,749.60. This trade represents a 37.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,612 shares of company stock worth $484,534. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Up 0.3%

PYPL stock opened at $59.20 on Thursday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.46 and a 12-month high of $79.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.37 and its 200 day moving average is $47.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $50.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 14.36%.The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.59%.

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.