South Dakota Investment Council Reduces Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

South Dakota Investment Council cut its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 341,626 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 15,697 shares during the quarter. PayPal accounts for 0.4% of South Dakota Investment Council’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in PayPal were worth $22,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 70.9% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 28,413 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,887,000 after buying an additional 11,791 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in PayPal by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 333,027 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $22,333,000 after purchasing an additional 5,663 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 160,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,760,000 after buying an additional 44,640 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of PayPal by 13.6% during the third quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IVY Lane Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $2,213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Compass Point raised PayPal from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 target price (down from $93.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.55.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total transaction of $1,560,563.37. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,285,484.67. The trade was a 54.83% 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. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,993.40. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,304 shares of company stock valued at $1,749,493. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnership: PayPal is now integrated into CellPoint Digital’s payment orchestration platform, which could expand PayPal acceptance across travel and retail merchants and help drive volume and checkout conversion. CellPoint Digital and PayPal partner
• Positive Sentiment: Buyout/takeover rumors are circulating (reports of interest from Stripe and others). M&A talk can lift the stock by implying a takeover premium or strategic alternatives. PayPal Buyout Rumors
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker note: KGI Securities reiterated a Neutral rating and set a $55 price target — implying material upside from current levels but stopping short of a buy endorsement; that can support near?term optimism while keeping expectations tempered. KGI Neutral Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus stance: Analysts’ average recommendation is broadly “Hold,” indicating the street remains cautious and mixed on PayPal’s recovery path. Average Hold Recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Legal pressure: Multiple securities?class actions have been filed and several law firms are soliciting lead plaintiffs tied to alleged misstatements about growth and initiatives — creates headline risk, potential legal costs, and governance scrutiny. Securities Fraud Lawsuit Notices
• Negative Sentiment: Corporate uncertainty: Reporting indicates PayPal has withdrawn its 2027 targets and undergone a CEO change, raising questions about strategy execution and near?term guidance clarity. CEO Change and Withdrawal of Targets
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamental concerns: Commentaries and analyst notes point to weakening pricing power and “real structural problems” that will need time and clear execution to fix — a driver of cautious/negative sentiment among investors. Bernstein: Limited Upside

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $45.63 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.15. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $79.50. The stock has a market cap of $42.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.35%.

PayPal 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.