Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management cut its PayPal stake by 95.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 982,688 shares and ending with 41,949 shares worth about $2.45 million.
• PayPal reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $1.34 versus estimates of $1.27 and revenue of $8.35 billion, up 7.2% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, while Wall Street’s overall view remains cautious with an average “Hold” rating and a target price of $55.85.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 95.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,949 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 982,688 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in PayPal by 6.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in PayPal by 35.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $97,794,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in PayPal by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,131,949 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $746,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,680,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $44.75 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.46 and a 12-month high of $79.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.39. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.38.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 10.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on PayPal from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on PayPal from $50.00 to $32.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 target price on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.85.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $1,361,317.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the business'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 value of $621,960.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,425,837.66. This represents a 30.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 57,373 shares of company stock worth $2,684,341 in the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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