Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Trims Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 60.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,022 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25,583 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in PayPal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,157 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its holdings in PayPal by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 2.9% in the third quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PYPL. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus dropped their price target on PayPal from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.03.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: February short interest dropped ~19.2% to ~41.8M shares (about 4.5% of float), lowering one potential source of downside pressure from persistent shorting and reducing the magnitude of any short‑squeeze volatility. (data item)
• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish commentators argue the recent selloff creates a buying opportunity if fundamentals stabilize—these views could attract value‑oriented buyers and provide price support. PayPal: If The Market Stays Irrational, I’ll Keep On Buying More
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal presented at the Wolfe Research FinTech Forum (transcript available); investor reaction will depend on management’s messaging about growth drivers and margins following the Q4 miss and leadership change. PayPal Presents at Wolfe Research FinTech Forum Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation pieces debate whether PYPL is now a value opportunity or a “value trap”; these analyses may drive short‑term retail flows but don’t change near‑term legal/operational risks. Is It Time To Revisit PayPal (PYPL) After Prolonged Share Price Weakness?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities‑class actions and law‑firm notices were filed or announced alleging that PayPal misled investors about its outlook between Feb. 25, 2025 and Feb. 2, 2026; plaintiffs cite the Feb. 3 earnings miss and CEO exit and the litigation raises uncertainty, potential damages and legal costs. PayPal Faces Securities Class Action — Hagens Berman
• Negative Sentiment: Critical analyst/commentary pieces label PayPal a potential “value trap,” arguing that revenue growth and margin recovery are uncertain—negative narrative that can keep multiple analysts cautious and delay any re‑rating. PayPal: A Classic Value Trap
• Negative Sentiment: Third‑party payment gateway competitors and niche providers are marketing services as alternatives to PayPal for certain merchants, a modest competitive headwind for merchant payment volumes over time. Tactical Payment Gateways for Shopify

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $45.02 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $41.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.71 and its 200 day moving average is $60.20.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company 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 company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.35%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $1,361,317.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total transaction of $98,763.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at $50,992.20. This represents a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PayPal Company 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.