Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,179,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 376,530 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.02% of PayPal worth $415,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in PayPal in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $55.85 on Wednesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $38.46 and a one year high of $79.50. The company has a market cap of $49.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.11.

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

PayPal Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PYPL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.61.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

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

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.