M&T Bank Corp Purchases 97,946 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp more than doubled its stake in PayPal in Q4, buying 97,946 shares (a 112.5% increase) to hold 184,989 shares worth about $10.8 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers, offloading 87,608 shares in the last quarter (including notable sales by the CAO and an EVP), leaving insiders with just 0.63% ownership.
• PayPal recently missed quarterly expectations (EPS $1.23 vs. $1.29 est.; revenue $8.68B vs. $8.82B), and analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $56.55.

M&T Bank Corp increased its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 112.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,989 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 97,946 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in PayPal were worth $10,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 41.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its holdings in PayPal by 40.1% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 17,388 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 4,974 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in PayPal by 17.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,909 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total transaction of $98,763.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,992.20. This represents a 65.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $1,361,317.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,113.34. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. Insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record PYUSD adoption and merchant crypto tools — PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin supply reportedly hit ~$4.3B and the firm is expanding Bitcoin payment options for U.S. merchants, a combination investors see as a new revenue avenue beyond core payments. Quiver Quantitative: PYPL Opinions on PayPal Beyond Event
• Positive Sentiment: New ad product could boost monetization — PayPal launched “Curated Ads” for connected TV and the open web to directly measure whether TV ads drive sales, expanding its growing advertising business and giving merchants measurable ROI. TipRanks: Curated Ads for CTV
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support tied to partnerships — Bank of America boosting its target (reported after the NFL deal) and other firms nudging targets higher reflect optimism that recent deals and product launches can drive revenue recovery. CoinCentral: BofA raises target to $55
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst coverage and valuations — several recent write-ups compare PYPL to peers (e.g., MA) and debate value vs. growth merits; median analyst target sits near $52, underscoring a split view. Yahoo Finance: PYPL vs MA valuation piece
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO initiates coverage at Market Perform — another large shop taking a neutral stance, which can temper upside expectations until clearer execution. MSN: BMO initiates coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy insider selling — Quiver Quant notes 23 insider open-market trades in the past six months, all sales and no buys, which investors often view as a red flag on near-term insider conviction. Quiver Quantitative: Insider trading summary
• Negative Sentiment: Large institutional reductions — multiple big managers (notably UBS AM and ClearBridge) trimmed positions materially in recent quarters, signaling continued portfolio rotation away from PYPL for some funds. Quiver Quantitative: Institutional holding changes
• Negative Sentiment: Contradictory analyst moves — Truist raised its target to $45 but retained a Sell rating (implying downside vs. some current levels), highlighting divergent views that can keep the stock volatile. Benzinga/The Fly: Truist target update

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $50.48 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $45.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.40.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC lowered PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Compass Point upgraded PayPal from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on PayPal from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.55.

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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