Great Lakes Advisors LLC Invests $2.91 Million in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 67,443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the first quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in PayPal by 15,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the second quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Up 1.7%

PYPL stock opened at $62.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.42. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.30.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 14.36%.The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $48.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, July 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.28.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Takeover speculation supported the stock. Deal chatter involving a possible Stripe and Advent International offer resurfaced, encouraging investors to view PayPal as a potential acquisition target. No offer or transaction has been confirmed, so the catalyst remains speculative. PayPal takeover speculation
• Positive Sentiment: Tuition-payment integrations expand PayPal’s potential transaction volume. PayPal and Venmo are now available through Illumia, Nelnet Campus Commerce and TouchNet, with participating schools including Bellarmine University, Butler University, Kansas State University, Michigan State University and Texas Tech. The initiative adds a recurring, high-value payment use case, though its near-term revenue contribution is unclear. PayPal and Venmo tuition-payment expansion
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal outperformed some buy-now-pay-later peers. Klarna and Affirm declined as PayPal remained positive, suggesting investors may be favoring the scale, established customer base and broader financial-services platform of more mature payment companies. PayPal and BNPL stock rotation
• Neutral Sentiment: Options pricing reflects substantial uncertainty. The options market implies a broad potential trading range over the coming year, consistent with uncertainty surrounding PayPal’s turnaround prospects and possible corporate activity. PayPal options outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: An insider sale was a modest cautionary signal. Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares worth approximately $253,716 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. She retained 30,983 shares, reducing the significance of the transaction as an indicator of business prospects. PayPal insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation risks remain. TikTok is reportedly developing a peer-to-peer payment feature that could challenge Venmo’s social-payments positioning. Jim Cramer also warned that some fintech stocks, including PayPal, may be priced for optimistic outcomes. TikTok peer-to-peer payment report

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Frank Keller sold 732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total transaction of $42,529.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,042.70. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.96, for a total value of $253,715.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,723.68. This represents a 11.84% 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 14,774 shares of company stock worth $738,249 over the last three months. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.