PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 47.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,238 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 15,655 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PYPL. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total transaction of $77,679.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,749.60. This represents a 37.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total transaction of $42,529.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,042.70. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,231 shares of company stock valued at $373,924. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $54.96 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.65. The company has a market cap of $47.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.28. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.21.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 14.36%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on PayPal from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Argus set a $70.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.03.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Renewed takeover speculation, including reports of possible interest from Stripe and discussion of a potential bid near $50 billion, has provided support by raising the possibility of a premium transaction. The reports remain unconfirmed. PayPal Stock Jumps on Fresh Takeover Speculation
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal’s buy-now-pay-later, credit and debit products are expanding its financial-services offering and could increase customer engagement, transaction volume and revenue growth. PayPal’s BNPL and Credit Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is approaching an ex-dividend date, while its low earnings valuation may attract value-oriented investors. However, valuation support has not fully offset concerns about growth and execution. PayPal stock gains ahead of ex-dividend date
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal reportedly paused the proposed sale of its venture-capital portfolio after potential buyers offered substantially less than expected. The decision reduces near-term proceeds from a noncore-asset sale and suggests difficult market conditions for the portfolio. PayPal pauses venture portfolio sale
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal is eliminating 251 positions at its San Jose headquarters and has also cut jobs in India and Ireland as part of its multiyear restructuring. While the reductions could lower costs over time, the repeated layoffs highlight ongoing operational pressure and uncertainty about the turnaround. PayPal adds another round of layoffs

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.