PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 482,132 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 14,286 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $20,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 15,233.3% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the second quarter worth $27,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.96, for a total value of $253,715.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,723.68. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value of $196,194.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,768,260.18. This trade represents a 9.99% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,774 shares of company stock worth $738,249. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $53.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $79.21.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 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 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus set a $70.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on PayPal from $48.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.14.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some market observers argue that PayPal’s board protected potentially greater long-term shareholder value by rejecting the reported $60.50-per-share offer, which valued the company at approximately $53 billion. Options pricing also continues to indicate a bullish bias among some traders. PayPal Drops 12% Overnight on Dead Stripe Deal
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal remains an independent turnaround story, with recent initiatives expanding PayPal and Venmo tuition-payment integrations through campus platforms. Investors will now focus more closely on whether management can improve growth and execution without takeover support. PayPal Tuition Payment Push
• Neutral Sentiment: The failed transaction removes a major change-of-control catalyst and returns attention to PayPal’s standalone fundamentals. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, but revenue growth remained modest and earnings per share declined year over year, leaving execution of its turnaround as the key valuation driver.
• Negative Sentiment: The reported withdrawal eliminates the takeover premium that had supported PYPL during weeks of deal speculation. Reports cited valuation concerns, regulatory hurdles and a breakdown in negotiations; the abrupt reversal has therefore prompted investors to reassess PayPal at its lower standalone valuation. PayPal Shares Fall After Consortium Abandons Takeover Pursuit
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts, including Mizuho, are highlighting risks facing PayPal after the deal collapsed. The heavy trading volume and test of the 50-day moving average indicate heightened uncertainty as investors await evidence that the company can generate sufficient growth independently. Why PayPal Stock Is Down and What Mizuho Thinks Comes Next

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.