CSM Advisors LLC Sells 169,898 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

CSM Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 67.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 169,898 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $5,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,855,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $191,516,000 after buying an additional 51,268 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 164,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,058,000 after acquiring an additional 22,139 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in PayPal by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,292,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $291,338,000 after acquiring an additional 313,180 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,210,000. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd raised its stake in PayPal by 347.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 193,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,949,000 after acquiring an additional 149,898 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. KGI Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,285,484.67. The trade was a 54.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,992.20. The trade was a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal has been included in Mastercard’s new crypto partner program alongside firms like Binance and Ripple, which supports its PYUSD/stablecoin and payments roadmap and could help revenue diversification if partnerships scale. Binance, Ripple, PayPal join Mastercard’s 85+ partner crypto initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation looks attractive to some investors and analysts: recent coverage highlights a low P/E and price targets above current levels, which can attract value buyers if execution stabilizes. Why PayPal’s Rally Faded—And What Could Restart It
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and crypto market moves are creating mixed flows: regulatory alignment between the CFTC and SEC and episodic crypto volatility are shaping sentiment for payments/crypto plays like PayPal. This is a backdrop rather than an immediate company-specific catalyst. Crypto Currents: CFTC affirms crypto oversight alignment with SEC
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class-action filings and numerous law‑firm alerts allege PayPal misled investors about growth and guidance (class period cited Feb 25, 2025–Feb 2, 2026). Firms are soliciting lead‑plaintiff motions with an April 20, 2026 deadline — this litigation wave increases legal risk, potential costs, and investor uncertainty. PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Faces Securities Class Action Amid $9 Billion Market Cap Wipeout, CEO Departure — Hagens Berman
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and management turnover remain immediate execution risks: coverage notes weak Feb results, cautious guidance, and the CEO departure — all drivers behind the recent selloff and continued skepticism until clear operational improvement is shown. Why PayPal’s Rally Faded—And What Could Restart It
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile commentary suggests competitive pressure from other payment/fintech platforms and actions by industry figures (e.g., Elon Musk) could further compress PayPal’s growth in key consumer/payment corridors. Elon Musk just made things uncomfortable for PayPal and Cash App

PayPal Trading Up 1.2%

PayPal stock opened at $44.90 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $41.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.43. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.68.

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). The company had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.PayPal’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. 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 10.35%.

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.