Bastion Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Bastion Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 43.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 24,230 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 18,612 shares during the quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in PayPal by 15,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal surged after reports that Stripe and Advent made a $53 billion acquisition offer at $60.50 per share, creating a takeover premium and boosting investor optimism. Reuters: Stripe, Advent offer to buy PayPal for more than $53 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors are arguing the bid undervalues PayPal, with some estimates pointing to a higher fair value around $70 a share or more, which keeps takeover speculation alive. Article: Cantor sees potential for higher PayPal offer as analysis suggests $70/share value
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $55 and Canaccord lifted its target to $55, signaling some improvement in outlook, though both targets remain below the recent trading level. Article: Paypal (PYPL) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal’s board is reportedly viewing the Stripe-Advent proposal as inadequate, suggesting negotiations could continue and the final outcome is still uncertain. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and financing hurdles could complicate or delay any deal, which may temper some of the takeover enthusiasm if no quick resolution emerges. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,260.18. The trade was a 9.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 the business’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 trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PayPal Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $56.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $38.46 and a one year high of $79.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.16.

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 firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on PYPL shares. Zacks Research upgraded PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on PayPal from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.61.

PayPal Company 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.