Heritage Investors Management Corp Sells 43,643 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Heritage Investors Management Corp lowered its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 36.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,224 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 43,643 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in PayPal were worth $3,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in PayPal by 15,233.3% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in PayPal during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal joined the European Payments Council, a move that could strengthen its role in shaping European payment rules and support long-term growth in the region. PayPal Stock (PYPL) Pops 3% on Joining EU Payments Council
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted PayPal’s EPC membership as a strategic step toward influencing the future of European payments and instant-transfer infrastructure. PayPal Secures EPC Seat to Help Guide Future of European Payments
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity included cheap out-of-the-money July 10 calls in PYPL, suggesting speculative trading interest rather than a clear fundamental catalyst. Five July 4th Fireworks: Unusual Options Activity Flags Cheap Lottery-Ticket Calls in CHWY, AVGO, PYPL, STLA and WMT
• Neutral Sentiment: A shareholder litigation firm said it is investigating PayPal’s officers and directors for possible fiduciary-duty issues, but this is only an early-stage legal probe and not a formal case. Kuehn Law Encourages Investors of PayPal Holdings, Inc. to Contact Law Firm

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL opened at $45.47 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.46 and a 12-month high of $79.50. The stock has a market cap of $40.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.49 and a 200-day moving average of $48.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PayPal from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total transaction of $66,128.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,443.56. This trade represents a 45.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 dated 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. Insiders sold a total of 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623 over the last ninety days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.