PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR trimmed its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 96,420 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 18,388 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings in PayPal were worth $5,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Summerhill Capital Management lnc. boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Summerhill Capital Management lnc. now owns 47,304 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,762,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $1,353,000. Indivisible Partners bought a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in PayPal by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 948,406 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,368,000 after acquiring an additional 14,777 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $621,960.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,837.66. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% 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 sold a total of 96,199 shares of company stock valued at $4,294,018 in the last three months. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts still see value in the stock, with RBC and Daiwa assigning upbeat ratings, and commentary arguing PayPal may be cheap enough that expectations are already low.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings showed a beat on both EPS and revenue, suggesting the core business is still growing and executing better than expected.
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Hold rating, reflecting a wait-and-see stance rather than a strong bullish or bearish call.
• Negative Sentiment: Macquarie downgraded PayPal to Neutral and cut its price target, citing a softer second-quarter outlook and a cost-saving plan that appears back-end loaded. Macquarie Downgrades PayPal as Cost-Saving Plan Looks Too Back-End Loaded
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America also lowered its price target and kept a Neutral rating, adding to the cautious analyst tone around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority launched a competition probe into PayPal’s wallet funding and usage practices, raising regulatory uncertainty in an important international market. FCA Probe Tests PayPal’s UK Wallet Economics And Growth Narrative
• Negative Sentiment: Several recent articles argue that the market was not impressed by PayPal’s earnings beat, with investors focusing instead on slower growth expectations, competitive pressures, and margin concerns.

PayPal Stock Down 1.8%

PYPL opened at $45.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $40.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.75 and its 200-day moving average is $53.99. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $38.46 and a one year high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 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 Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is 10.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PYPL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 target price on PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.42.

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.