Ceera Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Ceera Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 13.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 73,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 11,252 shares during the quarter. PayPal comprises 1.5% of Ceera Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $3,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Audent Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,537,000. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. grew its position in PayPal by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 9,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,295 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in PayPal by 125.6% during the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 9,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 5,472 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623 in the last ninety days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The reported takeover interest from Stripe and Advent has fueled speculation that PayPal could be worth more than the current offer, with several analysts and investors arguing the bid is too low. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary suggests the bid could force a higher valuation for PYPL, potentially supporting further upside if negotiations continue or a competing offer emerges. Yahoo Finance: Cantor sees potential for higher PayPal offer as analysis suggests $70/share value
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal’s board has reportedly not formally responded yet, so the deal is still early-stage and subject to negotiation, financing, and regulatory risk. Yahoo Finance weekly review
• Negative Sentiment: The board is said to view the $53 billion proposal as inadequate, which could mean a longer path to any deal or no deal at all if a higher price does not materialize. PYMNTS: PayPal Board Calls $53 Billion Stripe-Advent Bid Inadequate

PayPal Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $56.56 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $49.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.61.

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.