PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street consensus is “Hold”: Of 47 analysts covering PayPal, 34 rate it a hold, nine recommend buying and four recommend selling. The average 12-month price target is $56.28.
• PayPal exceeded quarterly expectations: The company reported adjusted EPS of $1.38 versus the $1.28 consensus estimate and revenue of $8.68 billion, up 4.8% year over year.
• Insiders have been selling while institutions remain major holders: Insiders sold $848,095 worth of shares over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 68.32% of PayPal’s stock.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the forty-seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirty-four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.28.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PYPL. Mizuho set a $51.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, August 28th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on PayPal from $43.50 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on PayPal from $46.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on PayPal from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 552 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.80, for a total transaction of $30,249.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $131,520. This represents a 18.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.43, for a total value of $255,643.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,304,058.81. This trade represents a 9.99% 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. Insiders sold a total of 14,774 shares of company stock worth $848,095 in the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the second quarter worth approximately $97,372,000. S&CO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the second quarter valued at approximately $18,827,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 4.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,608,600 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $117,987,000 after purchasing an additional 121,400 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 2.0% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,593,196 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $284,694,000 after purchasing an additional 128,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 76.0% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 54,458 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 23,516 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $56.05 on Tuesday. PayPal has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $79.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.19 and a 200-day moving average of $50.25. The firm has a market cap of $47.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.27.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The company had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. PayPal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.59%.

PayPal Company Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and businesses to send, receive, and manage money online and through mobile devices. Its services support online checkout, peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, digital wallets, and payment processing for merchants.

The company's principal consumer brands include PayPal and Venmo, while its merchant and commerce offerings include Braintree, PayPal Zettle, and PayPal Complete Payments. PayPal also operates Xoom, a service for international money transfers, and Honey, a shopping and rewards platform.

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