California Public Employees Retirement System Acquires 51,324 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,733,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,324 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of PayPal worth $116,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,855,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $191,516,000 after purchasing an additional 51,268 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 164,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,058,000 after purchasing an additional 22,139 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in PayPal by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,292,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $291,338,000 after purchasing an additional 313,180 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at $13,210,000. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 347.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 193,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,949,000 after buying an additional 149,898 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Contrarian and bullish write-ups argue PYPL is deeply discounted and could see significant upside if growth stabilizes and execution improves; these narratives can attract value investors. Forget the Lawsuit: Here’s How PayPal Could Double From Here
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and commentary (e.g., Seeking Alpha) argue the stock is not yet “broken” and that meaningful upside is possible if execution and key metrics improve — this supports short-term rallies. PayPal: Not Broken Enough To Sell
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat and others note the rally that followed takeover rumors faded once those rumors abated; they highlight the upcoming earnings and execution as the real catalysts — meaning near-term moves may hinge on early-May results. Why PayPal’s Rally Faded—And What Could Restart It
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons with peers (e.g., Zacks on PYPL vs. MA) and investor letters (Artisan) provide mixed viewpoints — PayPal’s AI/commerce and Venmo positives are noted, but guidance fears and competitive pressure temper conviction. PayPal vs MasterCard: Which Fintech Stock Offers Greater Upside Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or are soliciting lead-plaintiff status in a securities class action covering Feb. 25, 2025–Feb. 2, 2026 (deadline April 20, 2026). The wave of filings and reminders (Rosen, Faruqi, Hagens Berman, Bronstein, Portnoy, Robbins Geller, etc.) raises legal and headline risk and could pressure the shares. ROSEN Encourages PayPal Investors to Secure Counsel Hagens Berman: Securities Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain a concern: PayPal’s Feb. earnings missed estimates and management gave cautious guidance; combined with the abrupt CEO departure referenced in filings, investor confidence and near-term growth visibility are impaired. Why PayPal’s Rally Faded—And What Could Restart It
• Negative Sentiment: Income/ETF stories note PayPal’s collapsing share price has distorted yield products (e.g., PYPY’s high headline yield), underscoring capital-loss risk for income investors and adding negative narrative pressure. PayPal’s Collapsing Stock Price Directly Affects PYPY’s Absurd 75% Dividend Yield

PayPal Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $45.42 on Tuesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.35%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total transaction of $98,763.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,992.20. This represents a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $1,361,317.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,113.34. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PYPL shares. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.03.

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.