SEB Asset Management AB Acquires Shares of 186,226 PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 186,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,423,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in PayPal by 15,233.3% during the 4th 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 bought a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal is now viewed as a takeover target, with Stripe and Advent reportedly offering about $60.50 per share; that premium may support the stock as investors speculate on a higher bid or a strategic break-up value. Reuters: How PayPal went from Wall Street favorite to unwilling merger target
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from analysts and market personalities suggests the offer may be just an opening bid, reinforcing hopes that PayPal could fetch a better valuation if deal talks advance. Benzinga: Chamath Says Stripe’s PayPal Deal Is ‘a Shot Across the Bow’
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal remains a heavily watched stock as traders assess whether the takeover chatter represents a real catalyst or just speculation around a business that still has a strategic crossroads ahead. Yahoo Finance: PayPal Holdings, Inc. Is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s near-term earnings setup is cautious, with analysts expecting second-quarter EPS to decline modestly, which could limit upside if the company fails to deliver a beat. Zacks: Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term concerns remain that PayPal has lost momentum versus rivals like Apple Pay, which helps explain why some investors see the company as a pressured turnaround story despite the takeover interest. Economic Times: How PayPal went from Wall Street favorite to unwilling merger target

Insider Activity at PayPal

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

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $55.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.04 and its 200 day moving average is $47.11. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.46 and a fifty-two week high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.61.

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.