Candriam S.C.A. Increases Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. boosted its PayPal stake by 619.4% in Q3, adding 536,452 shares to hold 623,059 shares worth about $41.8 million (roughly 0.07% of the company).
• PayPal faces near-term headwinds after Q4 revenue and EPS misses, a lowered 2026 outlook, CEO departure and a securities investigation, which helped trigger heavy analyst price‑target cuts and volatility.
• Institutional interest remains high — Norges Bank opened a new stake of about $921.6 million, institutional ownership is ~68.3%, but the consensus analyst rating is "Hold" with a $63.72 target.

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 619.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 623,059 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 536,452 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.07% of PayPal worth $41,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PayPal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $921,570,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 11,992,031 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $891,248,000 after purchasing an additional 184,014 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,038,584 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $746,068,000 after purchasing an additional 522,514 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 9.5% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,542,450 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $486,235,000 after purchasing an additional 568,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in PayPal by 1.6% in the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,522,748 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $484,771,000 after purchasing an additional 103,718 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PYPL shares. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. KGI Securities decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.72.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deep-value case and buyback/dividend plan underpin a near-term bargain narrative; bulls point to low forward P/E, strong free cash flow and discretionary buybacks/new dividend as a potential floor. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors view a new CEO as a catalyst — profiles of Enrique Lores suggest his turnaround/operational experience could help execution if appointed. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish commentaries argue long-term investors can be rewarded if PayPal stabilizes its product growth and execution — fueling bargain-hunting bounces. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Compass Point moved to Neutral, reflecting that some uncertainty (CEO transition, guidance) is now priced in — not a clear buy/sell signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split: many cut targets and some keep “buy”/“outperform” calls, leaving consensus views mixed and volatility likely as estimates are re-worked. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results disappointed — EPS and revenue missed expectations and management issued lower 2026 guidance, which triggered the initial selloff and higher volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Alex Chriss was fired amid the branded-checkout slowdown and guidance cut; leadership turnover increases execution risk during a sensitive transition. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/litigation risk surfaced: a securities investigation was announced into the gap between prior outlook and reported results, adding legal and disclosure uncertainty. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy analyst price-target cuts, downgrades and visible insider selling amplified the selloff and investor caution this week. Read More.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,022.72. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PayPal Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $40.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.21 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.88 and a 52-week high of $79.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.27.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. PayPal's payout ratio is currently 10.35%.

About PayPal

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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