Equity Investment Corp Has $137.58 Million Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,051,529 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,115 shares during the quarter. PayPal makes up about 2.9% of Equity Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in PayPal were worth $137,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its position in shares of PayPal by 100.4% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 87,524 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 285.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 524 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal in the second quarter worth about $36,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PYPL. Mizuho reduced their target price on PayPal from $84.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Argus increased their price objective on PayPal from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.30.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,022.72. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total transaction of $615,303.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,486.71. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PayPal Trading Down 20.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $41.70 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.01. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.43 and a 52-week high of $82.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.64% and a net margin of 14.96%.PayPal’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.22%.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board names experienced external leader Enrique Lores as incoming CEO (effective March 1), which could speed execution and strategic change over time. PayPal hires HP’s Enrique Lores as its new CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish analysts see the selloff as a buying opportunity and at least one firm (Macquarie) kept an Outperform view and a high price target, signaling pockets of conviction among institutional investors. Benzinga – Macquarie Outperform
• Neutral Sentiment: Underlying volumes remained positive: Total payment volume (TPV) grew year?over?year (mid?single to high?single digits in Q4), showing continuing demand even as checkout metrics soften. PayPal in Charts: Total Payment Volume rose 8.5% Y/Y in Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS and revenue missed Street expectations (adjusted EPS ~$1.23 vs. ~$1.29 expected; revenue ~$8.68B vs. ~$8.8B), and management issued a weaker 2026 profit outlook — the primary catalyst for the sharp selloff. PayPal Is Plunging 14% As Profits Come Up Short
• Negative Sentiment: Surprise leadership change (Alex Chriss stepping down; interim CEO until Lores starts) intensified investor concern about execution and strategy execution, amplifying volatility. PayPal Stock Sinks After Company Warns of Earnings Drop and Names New CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades, big market?cap losses and active securities?fraud/shareholder investigations and law?firm outreach are increasing headline risk and may prolong downside pressure. Securities Fraud Investigation Into PayPal Announced

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.