Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 35.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 43,312 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 24,164 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in PayPal were worth $2,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $921,570,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in PayPal by 1.6% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 11,992,031 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $891,248,000 after buying an additional 184,014 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in PayPal by 5.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,038,584 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $746,068,000 after acquiring an additional 522,514 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 9.5% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,542,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $486,235,000 after acquiring an additional 568,640 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,522,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $484,771,000 after acquiring an additional 103,718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish pieces argue the stock is oversold and present buying opportunities, which can attract value‑oriented investors and short‑covering demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Another Seeking Alpha piece lays out why the recent sell‑off may be overextended and highlights what could drive a rebound, supporting short‑term buying interest. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks flags PYPL as a trending/most‑watched stock, which can boost trading volume but doesn’t change fundamentals. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Argus trimmed its price target to $65 — a reduction but still above current levels; this is mixed news (smaller long‑term signal than the larger cuts below). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein slashed its price target to $45 and moved to Market Perform, reducing analyst support and adding downward pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald cut its target to $42 and kept a Neutral rating, further trimming expectations and limiting near‑term upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal is facing an active securities investigation announced by Levi & Korsinsky, which raises legal/financial risk and can prolong volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: An EVP, Frank Keller, sold ~3,478 shares (~6.3% reduction in his position) — insider selling can be read negatively even if not large relative to total float. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary asks how PayPal can turn its business around, reflecting investor concern about execution and growth — a sentiment headwind. Read More.

PayPal Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $41.15 on Tuesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.88 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The company has a market cap of $37.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.01.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.PayPal’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is 10.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PYPL. Argus reduced their price target on PayPal from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $50.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.46.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,022.72. This trade represents a 11.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $139,815.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

PayPal 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.