Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. decreased its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,782 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 55,259 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $8,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of PayPal by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,855,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $191,516,000 after purchasing an additional 51,268 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 164,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,058,000 after purchasing an additional 22,139 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in PayPal by 7.9% in 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. acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth $13,210,000. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 347.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board/leadership boost — PayPal added Alyssa Henry (former Block/Square CEO) to its board, giving management deeper payments and merchant-platform experience that could help execution on product expansions and merchant adoption. PayPal (PYPL) Stock Reacts as Company Welcomes Former Square CEO Alyssa Henry to Board
• Positive Sentiment: Product/market expansion — PayPal is expanding its USD stablecoin (PYUSD) internationally and integrating with crypto platforms (Bybit EU) to enable fiat on/off ramps in Europe under MiCA, which could drive new flows, fees and cross-border use cases if adoption scales. PayPal Expands PYUSD Globally As Board Shift Frames Valuation Question
• Neutral Sentiment: Street positioning — Analysts presently rate PYPL around a consensus “Hold”, reflecting mixed views: valuation appears cheap on forward P/E but outlook and execution risks keep many from turning bullish. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang — Multiple law firms and plaintiff notices surfaced after a surprise CEO ouster and the withdrawal of long‑term targets; a wave of securities-class-action filings and lead‑plaintiff notices increases potential litigation costs, distraction and uncertainty for investors. PYPL ALERT: Hagens Berman Alerts PayPal (PYPL) Investors to Securities Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/regulatory‑political scrutiny — The FTC sent warning letters about “debanking” practices to PayPal and other payment firms, increasing regulatory oversight and reputational risk tied to politically sensitive account‑closure decisions. That scrutiny can complicate compliance and customer‑risk policies. FTC warns PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and Stripe against debanking after Trump’s executive order
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation vs. fundamentals — Coverage pieces note PYPL trades at a low forward P/E but warn weak guidance, competitive pressure (BNPL competitors, merchant alternatives) and macro headwinds may limit upside until growth visibility returns. PayPal Stock Trades Below Industry P/E: How to Play the Stock?

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $43.59 on Monday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.46 and a 12-month high of $79.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,560,563.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,285,484.67. This represents a 54.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,992.20. This trade represents a 65.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. HSBC lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.43.

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.