Sanctuary Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 31.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 81,805 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 37,781 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $3,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at about $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 41.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 17,388 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 4,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL opened at $56.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $49.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.14. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value of $196,194.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623 over the last ninety days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of PayPal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on PayPal from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.61.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• 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

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.