Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 27.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,255 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,525 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $1,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $949,758,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted 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 worth $1,158,554,000 after buying an additional 10,356,256 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted 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 worth $624,364,000 after buying an additional 9,590,488 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in PayPal by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after buying an additional 5,534,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 355.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,967,170 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $224,665,000 after buying an additional 3,875,688 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,762.57. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total transaction of $77,679.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,749.60. This represents a 37.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,612 shares of company stock worth $484,534. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venmo growth supports the recovery story. Venmo’s total payment volume is growing at a mid-teens rate, giving PayPal an important source of transaction growth. Increasing adoption of products such as payments, credit and other monetization tools could help convert that activity into faster revenue growth. PayPal’s Venmo: Can Monetization Sustain Its Mid-Teens Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings and operational improvements remain supportive. PayPal reported quarterly earnings of $1.38 per share, ahead of the $1.28 consensus estimate, while revenue of $8.68 billion also exceeded expectations. Commentary highlighting improvements under CEO Enrique Lores and PayPal’s strong July performance has reinforced the view that the company may be stabilizing after a difficult period. Jim Cramer Examines PayPal Holdings Performance Under Enrique Lores and M&A Speculation
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and M&A speculation are influencing sentiment. Analysts and commentators are debating whether PayPal remains undervalued following its recent share-price gains. Reported speculation about a potential buyout proposal has added an additional catalyst, but there is no confirmed transaction, making this a source of volatility rather than a firm fundamental driver. Is PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Undervalued After Earnings And Its Recent Share Price Jump?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about monetization and the sustainability of growth. Venmo’s strong payment-volume expansion will not necessarily produce comparable revenue growth unless PayPal can increase product usage and monetization. After the stock’s sharp recent advance, any evidence that revenue conversion or profitability is lagging expectations could limit further upside. PayPal’s Venmo: Can Monetization Sustain Its Mid-Teens Growth?

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $59.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $50.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.21.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued 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 (DPR) is currently 10.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on PayPal from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Argus set a $70.00 price objective on PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on PayPal from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on PayPal from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.72.

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.