Ceera Investments LLC Has $3.33 Million Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Ceera Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 11,252 shares during the period. PayPal makes up 1.5% of Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $3,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in PayPal by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 0.8% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 25,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 3.3% in the first quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PYPL. Loop Capital initiated coverage on PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PayPal from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $56.56 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.60 and a 200 day moving average of $47.23. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.51%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $78,443.56. This represents 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.