23,179 Shares in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Purchased by WealthShield Partners LLC

Key Points

• WealthShield Partners LLC opened a new position in PayPal in Q4, buying 23,179 shares worth about $1.35 million according to its latest 13F filing.
• Institutional ownership is high—about 68.32%—with major funds such as Vanguard, Capital Research, Invesco and Dimensional increasing their stakes (Vanguard added ~5.53 million shares to hold ~90.38 million).
• PayPal beat Q1 revenue and EPS estimates but cut guidance, announced ~20% workforce reductions and a $1.5B cost‑savings plan, faces a UK regulator probe and mixed analyst actions, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 (≈1.2% yield).

WealthShield Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 23,179 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PayPal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,276,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in PayPal by 2.3% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 27,953,803 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,874,637,000 after acquiring an additional 636,441 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in PayPal by 10.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,131,949 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $746,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,365 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in PayPal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 8,493,311 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $605,488,000 after acquiring an additional 132,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in PayPal by 35.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,177,536 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $548,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160,227 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an Outperform rating ($59 PT) and Daiwa upgraded PYPL to Outperform, providing near-term buy-side endorsement that could limit downside. RBC Outperform (Benzinga) Daiwa Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target (to $54) — another signal some brokers see valuation upside if execution/stability returns. Cantor Fitzgerald PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 was a mixed beat: revenue and EPS topped estimates but management cut guidance and emphasized restructuring, leaving investors uncertain whether growth or margin recovery will follow. Q1 Results and Valuation (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sought lifeline/strategic analysis: coverage about a “$6 billion lifeline” and other longer-term options highlights balance-sheet flexibility but leaves execution risk. PayPal's $6 Billion Lifeline
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader tech/AI-driven layoffs (e.g., Cloudflare) and industry restructuring add context to PayPal’s cuts; could signal secular efficiency pushes rather than company-specific failure. Cloudflare Layoffs (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulator probe: the Financial Conduct Authority opened a competition investigation into PayPal, Mastercard and Visa over digital-wallet funding/usage — this raises regulatory uncertainty in a key international market and could pressure merchant/wallet economics. FCA Probe (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and target cuts: Macquarie cut PYPL to Neutral (PT $50) citing a back‑end loaded cost plan and soft Q2 outlook; Goldman lowered its PT to $40; Bank of America trimmed its PT — these moves lower sentiment and can trigger selling pressure. Macquarie Downgrade Goldman PT Cut BoA PT Trim
• Negative Sentiment: Large workforce reductions (~20% / ~4,760 jobs) and a $1.5B cost-savings plan were announced after profit fell — short-term profit pressure and execution risk are weighing on investor patience. PayPal Layoffs (Quartz)
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction has been negative: despite the beats, commentary focused on weaker guidance and longer payback from cost cuts, contributing to continued share weakness. Market Reaction (TheStreet)

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $46.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm's 50 day moving average is $46.75 and its 200 day moving average is $53.99. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. PayPal's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. PayPal's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PYPL. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $42.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $50.00 to $32.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.42.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $621,960.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,837.66. This represents a 30.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total transaction of $66,128.02. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at $78,443.56. The trade was a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 96,199 shares of company stock worth $4,294,018. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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