North Star Asset Management Inc. Invests $10.69 Million in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 247,634 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,693,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,043,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $97,372,000. S&CO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,827,000. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,608,600 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $117,987,000 after buying an additional 121,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 705.2% during the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 100,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,876,000 after buying an additional 88,151 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal’s expansion into tuition payments could support future growth. Integrations with Nelnet Campus Commerce, Illumia and TouchNet allow students and families to use PayPal and Venmo for tuition-related payments, broadening Venmo’s commercial use. PayPal Holdings Tuition Payment Push
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $1.38 versus consensus of $1.28 and revenue of approximately $8.68 billion versus estimates of $8.47 billion. Total payment volume reportedly increased 10% year over year, while analysts have raised some price targets and investors continue to view the new CEO transition as a possible turnaround opportunity. Why Is PayPal Up Since Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent momentum had been strong, with PayPal gaining about 10% over the past month and 39% over three months, although its one-year total return remained negative. The stock’s valuation—roughly 12 times earnings—may attract value investors, but reported analyst targets vary widely and several remain below the current trading level. PayPal Opinions on Earnings and Acquisition Speculation
• Negative Sentiment: The reported collapse of the Advent-Stripe discussions eliminates hopes for a deal premium. The consortium had previously been linked to an offer of at least $60.50 per share, with negotiations reportedly focused on a higher bid. Without that proposal, investors may refocus on PayPal’s slower revenue growth and execution risks. Advent Stripe Consortium Drops PayPal Pursuit

PayPal Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $61.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $52.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.07. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $79.21.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 14.36%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is 10.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on PYPL shares. HSBC assumed coverage on PayPal in a research report on Friday, July 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus set a $70.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.28.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value 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 represents a 9.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total value of $77,679.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,749.60. This represents a 37.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,774 shares of company stock worth $738,249. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

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.