Heritage Investors Management Corp Has $3.49 Million Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Heritage Investors Management Corp reduced its PayPal stake by 36.1% in the first quarter, selling 43,643 shares and leaving it with 77,224 shares worth about $3.49 million.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: recent price targets were nudged higher by several firms, but PayPal’s consensus rating is still "Hold" with an average price target of $55.01.
• PayPal reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.34 topping estimates and revenue of $8.35 billion beating forecasts; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share.

Heritage Investors Management Corp cut its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 36.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,224 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 43,643 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in PayPal were worth $3,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in PayPal by 15,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in PayPal during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.01.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal joined the European Payments Council, a move that could strengthen its role in shaping European payment rules and support long-term growth in the region. PayPal Stock (PYPL) Pops 3% on Joining EU Payments Council
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted PayPal’s EPC membership as a strategic step toward influencing the future of European payments and instant-transfer infrastructure. PayPal Secures EPC Seat to Help Guide Future of European Payments
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity included cheap out-of-the-money July 10 calls in PYPL, suggesting speculative trading interest rather than a clear fundamental catalyst. Five July 4th Fireworks: Unusual Options Activity Flags Cheap Lottery-Ticket Calls in CHWY, AVGO, PYPL, STLA and WMT
• Neutral Sentiment: A shareholder litigation firm said it is investigating PayPal’s officers and directors for possible fiduciary-duty issues, but this is only an early-stage legal probe and not a formal case. Kuehn Law Encourages Investors of PayPal Holdings, Inc. to Contact Law Firm

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total transaction of $536,170.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,076,687.32. The trade was a 20.52% 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. Insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623 over the last quarter. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $45.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock's 50-day moving average is $44.49 and its 200-day moving average is $48.00. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $38.46 and a one year high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. PayPal's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal's dividend payout ratio is 10.51%.

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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