PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Stake Cut by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 78.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,830 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27,901 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in PayPal were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 87,524 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 285.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 524 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 1,250.0% in the third quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Stripe explored a potential bid for all or parts of PayPal reignited takeover hopes and lifted speculative buyer interest that can push the share price higher on M&A premium expectations. PayPal Surges on Stripe Acquisition Interest
• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish commentaries argue PayPal’s cash generation and depressed valuation create upside (buyout/activist scenarios and long-term recovery narratives). This supports speculative accumulation at low prices. PayPal’s Brutal Reset Hides A Cash Machine
• Neutral Sentiment: Counterreports (Semafor/TechCrunch) say PayPal is not actively in sale talks, which removes some deal certainty and can cool takeover-driven rallies. PayPal might not be looking to sell itself, report
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock triggered trading halts during rumor-driven volatility (LULD), indicating elevated short-term trading risk and higher intraday swings for traders. PayPal Stock Halted on Stripe Rumor
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or solicited clients for securities class actions alleging disclosure issues tied to PayPal’s metrics and recent disclosures — increased litigation risk and potential settlements can pressure the stock and keep shares volatile. PayPal Holdings, Inc. Sued for Securities Law Violations
• Negative Sentiment: An analyst sell/downgrade highlights competitive weaknesses (notably Braintree economics) and an unattractive risk/reward, which can weigh on investor sentiment and institutional demand. Sell Rating on PayPal
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarter showed a small EPS and revenue miss and management gave cautious near?term guidance; that combination has kept downward pressure as investors focus on growth execution and margins. PYPL Falls 9.6% Despite Earnings Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest has ticked up, and the company has been preparing defenses for potential activist campaigns — both signal investor skepticism and can amplify downside if guidance or legal headlines worsen.

PayPal Stock Down 3.8%

PYPL stock opened at $45.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.57. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.35%.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total value of $49,114.37. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 404 shares in the company, valued at $16,357.96. This trade represents a 75.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $139,815.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,993.40. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,304 shares of company stock worth $1,749,493. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on PayPal from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Compass Point raised PayPal from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on PayPal from $50.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.03.

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.