Equitable Holdings Inc. Invests $665,000 in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Equitable Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $665,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in PayPal by 15,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, 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 transaction of $196,194.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,768,260.18. This trade represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.96, for a total transaction of $253,715.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,723.68. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,774 shares of company stock valued at $738,249. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on PayPal from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group set a $45.00 target price on PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on PayPal from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on PayPal from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on PayPal from $43.50 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Nine equities research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.14.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

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

PayPal Stock Performance

PayPal stock opened at $53.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.88 and a 200-day moving average of $48.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid 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 payout ratio is 10.59%.

PayPal 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.