Frank Keller Sells 3,478 Shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

PayPal Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of PYPL opened at $41.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $56.32 and its 200 day moving average is $63.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.88 and a fifty-two week high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in PayPal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of PayPal by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 27,953,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,874,637,000 after buying an additional 636,441 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at $949,758,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.6% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 11,992,031 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $891,248,000 after buying an additional 184,014 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 10.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,131,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $746,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,365 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Argus dropped their target price on PayPal from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, HSBC lowered PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.49.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish write‑ups argue the sell‑off is overdone and present a value/buying case that can attract contrarian investors and short covering. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: A second Seeking Alpha piece highlights an overextended sell‑off and scenarios that could trigger a rebound, supporting near‑term buying interest. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes PYPL is a trending/most‑watched stock — this can lift volume and volatility but doesn’t change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The board ousted CEO Alex Chriss and named Enrique Lores as his replacement, a disruptive leadership change that signals concern about execution and increases near‑term uncertainty. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms (Kessler Topaz; Levi & Korsinsky) have opened securities investigations into PayPal’s disclosures and the timing of leadership changes, raising legal risk and potential distraction/costs. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts slashed price targets and moved to neutral/sell (Truist to $39/sell; Daiwa to $42/neutral; Bernstein to $45/market perform; Cantor to $42), which reduces broker support and adds downward pressure. Truist/Other Cuts Daiwa
• Negative Sentiment: Former PayPal president David Marcus publicly criticized management and said the company needs saving, reinforcing investor concerns about execution and strategy. Bloomberg Interview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: EVP Frank Keller sold ~3,478 shares (disclosed SEC filing), which some investors interpret as a negative signal even if not large. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent earnings (Feb 3) missed consensus on EPS and revenue, so disappointing fundamentals are part of the sell‑off backdrop (earlier catalyst).

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.