Moran Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management increased its PayPal stake by 62.2% in the first quarter, adding 82,972 shares to bring its total holdings to 216,457 shares worth about $9.79 million.
• PayPal’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.34 versus $1.27 expected and revenue of $8.35 billion, up 7.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: PayPal has a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $55.01, even though some firms recently raised targets or upgraded the stock.

Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 62.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,457 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 82,972 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in PayPal were worth $9,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 6.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,043,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.3% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 27,953,803 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,874,637,000 after purchasing an additional 636,441 shares during the last quarter. Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,130,000. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 705.2% during the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 100,651 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,876,000 after purchasing an additional 88,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PYPL. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America reduced 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.01.

PayPal Price Performance

PayPal stock opened at $45.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The company has a market cap of $40.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $44.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.00.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. PayPal's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. PayPal's dividend payout ratio is 10.51%.

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 dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the sale, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total transaction of $66,128.02. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at $78,443.56. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623 in the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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