S&CO Inc. Acquires 99,615 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

S&CO Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 28.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 445,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,615 shares during the period. PayPal makes up 1.2% of S&CO Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $20,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in PayPal by 15,233.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The reported takeover interest from Stripe and Advent has fueled speculation that PayPal could be worth more than the current offer, with several analysts and investors arguing the bid is too low. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary suggests the bid could force a higher valuation for PYPL, potentially supporting further upside if negotiations continue or a competing offer emerges. Yahoo Finance: Cantor sees potential for higher PayPal offer as analysis suggests $70/share value
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal’s board has reportedly not formally responded yet, so the deal is still early-stage and subject to negotiation, financing, and regulatory risk. Yahoo Finance weekly review
• Negative Sentiment: The board is said to view the $53 billion proposal as inadequate, which could mean a longer path to any deal or no deal at all if a higher price does not materialize. PYMNTS: PayPal Board Calls $53 Billion Stripe-Advent Bid Inadequate

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total transaction of $536,170.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,687.32. This represents a 20.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,443.56. The trade was a 45.74% 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. Insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623 in the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised shares of PayPal from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital began coverage on PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on PayPal from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.61.

PayPal Trading Down 0.3%

PayPal stock opened at $56.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.60 and a 200-day moving average of $47.23. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $38.46 and a one year high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $49.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.51%.

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.