Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Raises Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its PayPal stake by 79.9% in the fourth quarter, adding more than 1.36 million shares to bring its holdings to 3.06 million shares worth about $178.8 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised or initiated positions, and hedge funds now own 68.32% of PayPal’s stock, indicating continued heavy institutional interest.
• PayPal reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.34 and revenue of $8.35 billion, while analysts currently maintain an overall Hold rating with a consensus price target of $55.85.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 79.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,062,579 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,360,501 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.33% of PayPal worth $178,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 35.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,160,227 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,168,490 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $476,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,560 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the third quarter valued at approximately $97,794,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 approximately $1,325,762.57. This trade represents 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Mizuho reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane increased 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Loop Capital began coverage on PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on PayPal from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.85.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $41.53 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $36.63 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.85 and a 200 day moving average of $49.85. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. PayPal's dividend payout ratio is 10.51%.

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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