Equity Investment Corp Decreases Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Equity Investment Corp lessened its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,991,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 60,511 shares during the quarter. PayPal accounts for 2.3% of Equity Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in PayPal were worth $116,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 8,700.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total transaction of $536,170.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,687.32. The trade was a 20.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623 over the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $41.24 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.91 and its 200 day moving average is $49.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.34.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly 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. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. PayPal’s payout ratio is currently 10.51%.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal announced a new partnership with Shopware to power “Shopware Payments,” giving merchants embedded access to PayPal checkout, wallets, BNPL, and other payment options inside a growing e-commerce platform. The deal expands PayPal’s reach with online sellers and could add more transaction volume over time. Shopware Launches Shopware Payments in Partnership with PayPal
• Positive Sentiment: A separate report highlighted that the Shopware partnership deepens PayPal’s embedded payments footprint and could help narrow the company’s valuation gap if it can turn these integrations into sustained growth. Shopware Payments Deepens PayPal’s Embedded Reach As Valuation Gap Widens
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal also released new consumer survey data showing many Canadian shoppers are willing to cut other spending to attend summer soccer events, which is more of a brand-marketing item than a direct financial catalyst. Goal vs. Going Out: New PayPal Poll shows 44% of Canadians surveyed would sideline everyday spending for summer soccer
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts reportedly continue to rate PayPal as a “Hold,” suggesting sentiment remains cautious even as the stock rebounds from recent weakness. PayPal Holdings, Inc. Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage noted PayPal has been declining more than the broader market, reinforcing that investors still have concerns about growth and momentum despite the latest partnership news. Paypal (PYPL) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PYPL shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.85.

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.