Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Sells 25,583 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,022 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25,583 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,855,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $191,516,000 after purchasing an additional 51,268 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 15.5% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 164,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,058,000 after buying an additional 22,139 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in PayPal by 7.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,292,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $291,338,000 after buying an additional 313,180 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in PayPal in the third quarter valued at $13,210,000. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd boosted its position in PayPal by 347.0% during the third quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 193,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,949,000 after acquiring an additional 149,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $1,361,317.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,560,563.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,285,484.67. This trade represents a 54.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PYPL. Citigroup lowered their price objective on PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus cut their target price on PayPal from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on PayPal from $90.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.03.

PayPal Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $45.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $79.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results 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). PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.35%.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: February short interest dropped ~19.2% to ~41.8M shares (about 4.5% of float), lowering one potential source of downside pressure from persistent shorting and reducing the magnitude of any short?squeeze volatility. (data item)
• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish commentators argue the recent selloff creates a buying opportunity if fundamentals stabilize—these views could attract value?oriented buyers and provide price support. PayPal: If The Market Stays Irrational, I’ll Keep On Buying More
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal presented at the Wolfe Research FinTech Forum (transcript available); investor reaction will depend on management’s messaging about growth drivers and margins following the Q4 miss and leadership change. PayPal Presents at Wolfe Research FinTech Forum Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation pieces debate whether PYPL is now a value opportunity or a “value trap”; these analyses may drive short?term retail flows but don’t change near?term legal/operational risks. Is It Time To Revisit PayPal (PYPL) After Prolonged Share Price Weakness?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities?class actions and law?firm notices were filed or announced alleging that PayPal misled investors about its outlook between Feb. 25, 2025 and Feb. 2, 2026; plaintiffs cite the Feb. 3 earnings miss and CEO exit and the litigation raises uncertainty, potential damages and legal costs. PayPal Faces Securities Class Action — Hagens Berman
• Negative Sentiment: Critical analyst/commentary pieces label PayPal a potential “value trap,” arguing that revenue growth and margin recovery are uncertain—negative narrative that can keep multiple analysts cautious and delay any re?rating. PayPal: A Classic Value Trap
• Negative Sentiment: Third?party payment gateway competitors and niche providers are marketing services as alternatives to PayPal for certain merchants, a modest competitive headwind for merchant payment volumes over time. Tactical Payment Gateways for Shopify

About PayPal

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.