Equity Investment Corp Has $116.24 Million Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Equity Investment Corp trimmed its PayPal stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, but still held 1,991,018 shares valued at about $116.24 million. PayPal remained its 14th-largest position and represented 2.3% of the fund’s holdings.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious overall, with PayPal carrying a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $55.85. Recent updates included upgrades and target increases, but most analysts still see limited near-term upside.
• PayPal reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.34 and revenue of $8.35 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share. The stock traded up 1.3% to $41.24, even as recent insider selling and broader concerns about growth kept sentiment mixed.

Equity Investment Corp cut its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,991,018 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 60,511 shares during the period. PayPal accounts for 2.3% of Equity Investment Corp's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Equity Investment Corp owned about 0.22% of PayPal worth $116,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 8,700.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $38,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. KGI Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of PayPal from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eight investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.85.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal announced a new partnership with Shopware to power “Shopware Payments,” giving merchants embedded access to PayPal checkout, wallets, BNPL, and other payment options inside a growing e-commerce platform. The deal expands PayPal’s reach with online sellers and could add more transaction volume over time. Shopware Launches Shopware Payments in Partnership with PayPal
• Positive Sentiment: A separate report highlighted that the Shopware partnership deepens PayPal’s embedded payments footprint and could help narrow the company’s valuation gap if it can turn these integrations into sustained growth. Shopware Payments Deepens PayPal’s Embedded Reach As Valuation Gap Widens
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal also released new consumer survey data showing many Canadian shoppers are willing to cut other spending to attend summer soccer events, which is more of a brand-marketing item than a direct financial catalyst. Goal vs. Going Out: New PayPal Poll shows 44% of Canadians surveyed would sideline everyday spending for summer soccer
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts reportedly continue to rate PayPal as a “Hold,” suggesting sentiment remains cautious even as the stock rebounds from recent weakness. PayPal Holdings, Inc. Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage noted PayPal has been declining more than the broader market, reinforcing that investors still have concerns about growth and momentum despite the latest partnership news. Paypal (PYPL) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total value of $536,170.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,076,687.32. This trade represents a 20.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total transaction of $66,128.02. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

PayPal Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $41.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $36.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.34. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $79.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.99.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. PayPal's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. PayPal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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