PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Centaurus Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 41.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27,205 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter worth about $660,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 15.3% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 5,246 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the period. IFS Group LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal in the first quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in PayPal by 273.2% during the first quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,804 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 18,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 28.1% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 25,884 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. Clear Str upgraded shares of PayPal to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Argus set a $70.00 target price on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their target price on PayPal from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total value of $77,679.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,749.60. This trade represents a 37.63% 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 have sold 10,612 shares of company stock valued at $484,534 over the last three months. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal reported second-quarter revenue of $8.68 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.38, exceeding estimates of $8.47 billion and $1.28, respectively. Management also raised its full-year profit outlook, citing improving branded checkout, Venmo growth and cost savings. PayPal’s Q2 Earnings Call Focuses on Checkout Stability
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts lifted their price targets following the results, including JPMorgan to $65, Mizuho to $60, Citi to $61 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to $70, with KBW upgrading the shares to outperform. Analysts Boost PayPal Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal is joining Binance’s bStocks initiative, potentially expanding access to tokenized equities for crypto users and creating additional payment or financial-services opportunities. PayPal Joins Binance bStocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Stripe and Advent International recently offered about $60.50 per share for PayPal. The board reportedly viewed the bid as too low, while CEO discussions indicated openness to potential deals but continued preference for an independent recovery. The speculation may provide valuation support but also highlights strategic uncertainty. PayPal CEO Signals Deal Openness
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, payable September 25 to shareholders of record September 4, offering an annualized yield of roughly 1%.
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided: Wells Fargo, TD Cowen, Baird, Canaccord and Wolfe Research retained neutral or hold ratings, while Goldman Sachs reportedly warned that stronger results have not resolved PayPal’s core branded-checkout and competitive-positioning challenges. Wall Street Divided on PayPal
• Negative Sentiment: Two insiders sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans: Frank Keller sold 732 shares and Chief Accounting Officer Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares. Because the transactions were scheduled in advance, they are a limited—but still potentially negative—signal.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL opened at $57.65 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.02. The company has a market cap of $50.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.59%.

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.