Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL – Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,127,271 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 35,032 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $50,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after buying an additional 5,534,462 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 355.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,967,170 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,665,000 after acquiring an additional 3,875,688 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 143.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,089,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $297,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 261.5% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,291,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $133,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total transaction of $196,194.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,768,260.18. This trade represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at $78,443.56. The trade was a 45.74% 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. Insiders sold a total of 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623 in the last ninety days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Key Stories Impacting PayPal
- Positive Sentiment: The reported takeover interest from Stripe and Advent has fueled speculation that PayPal could be worth more than the current offer, with several analysts and investors arguing the bid is too low. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say
- Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary suggests the bid could force a higher valuation for PYPL, potentially supporting further upside if negotiations continue or a competing offer emerges. Yahoo Finance: Cantor sees potential for higher PayPal offer as analysis suggests $70/share value
- Neutral Sentiment: PayPal’s board has reportedly not formally responded yet, so the deal is still early-stage and subject to negotiation, financing, and regulatory risk. Yahoo Finance weekly review
- Negative Sentiment: The board is said to view the $53 billion proposal as inadequate, which could mean a longer path to any deal or no deal at all if a higher price does not materialize. PYMNTS: PayPal Board Calls $53 Billion Stripe-Advent Bid Inadequate
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
PYPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Clear Str upgraded PayPal to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.61.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on PYPL
PayPal Price Performance
PayPal stock opened at $56.56 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $79.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.23. The stock has a market cap of $49.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33. 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 – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.
PayPal Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is 10.51%.
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.
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