Oak Thistle LLC Increases Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 45.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 48,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,086 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in PayPal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,157 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its stake in PayPal by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $621,960.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,837.66. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,113.34. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.24.

PayPal Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $44.87 on Wednesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.50. The stock has a market cap of $41.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.87.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.35%.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis piece weighing whether PYPL at ~US$44 is a bargain or a value trap — highlights the stock’s multi-period declines and asks what the current price implies for business prospects. Is It Time To Reassess PayPal (PYPL) After Its Prolonged Share Price Slump?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market summaries noting PYPL’s recent trading weakness relative to the broader market — useful for short-term price context but not new company-specific information. Paypal (PYPL) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Contrarian/buy-the-dip pieces continue to circulate in the market commentary universe; they may support longer-term buyers but haven’t offset near-term operational/legal concerns. Market Crash: 2 Stocks I’d Buy Without Hesitation
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal disclosed a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized transactions on some customer accounts; the company issued refunds. That raises short-term operational costs, customer-trust risk and potential regulatory/insurance exposure — a likely driver of investor concern. PayPal Cybersecurity Incident Tests Platform Resilience And Investor Valuation Case
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of securities-class-action filings and multiple law-firm deadline alerts (lead-plaintiff motions due April 20) have been circulated this week, increasing legal overhang and the prospect of costly litigation or settlements. These notices amplify downside risk and can pressure sentiment until resolved. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Reminds Investors … Class Action Lawsuit – PYPL

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.