Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 402,671 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 13.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,537,873 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 402,671 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $114,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in PayPal during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,443.56. The trade was a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PayPal stock traded up $1.00 on Friday, reaching $46.32. The stock had a trading volume of 10,627,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,801,931. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.50. The company has a market cap of $40.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.91.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts say PayPal still has support from rising payment volumes, Venmo growth, and ongoing technology upgrades, which could help long-term earnings and transaction growth. Is PYPL Stock Worth Retaining in Your Portfolio for the Long Run?
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin launching natively on Polygon is boosting interest in the company’s digital assets strategy and could strengthen its payments ecosystem over time. PayPal boosts its stablecoin as banks prepare to launch a shared one
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles note conflicting analyst views on PayPal, suggesting the stock still has divided Wall Street support rather than a clear consensus. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Financial Companies: American Express (AXP), Robinhood (HOOD) and PayPal Holdings (PYPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal is still being viewed as a value stock by some investors, but commentary suggests the turnaround is not complete and the market remains cautious on execution. 2 Value Stocks for Long-Term Investors and 1 We Avoid
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reportedly upgraded PayPal to “strong sell,” reinforcing concerns about near-term pressure and helping explain the stock’s weaker performance trend. Zacks.com
• Negative Sentiment: TipRanks noted PayPal is down nearly 22% year to date, reflecting investor skepticism about the pace of its turnaround and ongoing competitive/macro risks. PayPal (PYPL) Stock Is Down 22% YTD; Let’s Look at Who Owns the Stock?

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.