Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Purchases 15,668 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,620 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,668 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $12,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal during the second quarter worth about $3,236,989,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in PayPal by 67.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,614,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,158,554,000 after buying an additional 10,356,256 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in PayPal by 227.6% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,804,208 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $624,364,000 after buying an additional 9,590,488 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $422,092,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,758,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PayPal from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on PayPal from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut PayPal from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.94.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal shares moved higher alongside other fintech stocks as investors reacted to Block’s earnings beat and raised outlook. The article frames the move as sector-wide momentum rather than a PayPal-specific catalyst. Block Surges 16% on Earnings Beat and Raised Outlook; SoFi and PayPal Advance 4%
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal and Venmo expanded their payout partnership with LianLian Global, broadening access for creators, marketplaces and contractors across 96 markets. The added reach could support cross-border use of PayPal’s wallets. How Investors Are Reacting To PayPal (PYPL) LianLian Payout Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Payments software provider Justt introduced PayPal Alerts, which gives merchants pre-chargeback warnings. The feature may help merchants manage disputes, but it is a third-party product announcement, not a PayPal launch. Justt Launches ‘Flows,’ Its New Chargeback Automation Engine
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded PayPal to Hold from Buy and cut its price target to $63 from $72, citing a lack of reacceleration in branded checkout. This underscores concerns that PayPal’s core checkout business is struggling to regain momentum. Freedom Broker cuts PayPal to Hold as branded checkout stalls

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.43, for a total value of $255,643.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,304,058.81. This represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 552 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.80, for a total transaction of $30,249.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,520. The trade was a 18.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,437 shares of company stock valued at $768,417. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Up 3.4%

PayPal stock opened at $60.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $55.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.07. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $68.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $8.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 24th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.69%.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and businesses to send, receive, and manage money online and through mobile devices. Its services support online checkout, peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, payment processing, invoicing, and other commerce-related transactions.

The company’s portfolio includes the PayPal and Venmo brands, Braintree’s payment processing technology, and Xoom’s international money transfer service. PayPal also offers merchant tools, digital wallets, payment solutions, and consumer financing products through its platform and related services.

PayPal traces its origins to 1998 and became an independent publicly traded company after separating from eBay in 2015.