PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by CHICAGO TRUST Co NA

Key Points

• CHICAGO TRUST Co NA cut its PayPal stake by 74.9% in the second quarter, selling 17,600 shares and retaining 5,908 shares valued at approximately $255,000.
• Institutional sentiment was mixed: Vanguard and several other investors increased their positions, while institutions and hedge funds collectively owned 68.32% of PayPal.
• PayPal recently beat quarterly expectations with $1.38 in EPS and $8.68 billion in revenue, but analysts remain cautious, assigning the stock a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $55.72.

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA decreased its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 74.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,908 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 17,600 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA's holdings in PayPal were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $2,043,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in PayPal by 4.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,608,600 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $117,987,000 after buying an additional 121,400 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 88,151 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 76.0% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 54,458 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,430,000 after buying an additional 23,516 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venmo growth supports the recovery story. Venmo’s total payment volume is growing at a mid-teens rate, giving PayPal an important source of transaction growth. Increasing adoption of products such as payments, credit and other monetization tools could help convert that activity into faster revenue growth. PayPal's Venmo: Can Monetization Sustain Its Mid-Teens Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings and operational improvements remain supportive. PayPal reported quarterly earnings of $1.38 per share, ahead of the $1.28 consensus estimate, while revenue of $8.68 billion also exceeded expectations. Commentary highlighting improvements under CEO Enrique Lores and PayPal’s strong July performance has reinforced the view that the company may be stabilizing after a difficult period. Jim Cramer Examines PayPal Holdings Performance Under Enrique Lores and M&A Speculation
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and M&A speculation are influencing sentiment. Analysts and commentators are debating whether PayPal remains undervalued following its recent share-price gains. Reported speculation about a potential buyout proposal has added an additional catalyst, but there is no confirmed transaction, making this a source of volatility rather than a firm fundamental driver. Is PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Undervalued After Earnings And Its Recent Share Price Jump?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about monetization and the sustainability of growth. Venmo’s strong payment-volume expansion will not necessarily produce comparable revenue growth unless PayPal can increase product usage and monetization. After the stock’s sharp recent advance, any evidence that revenue conversion or profitability is lagging expectations could limit further upside. PayPal's Venmo: Can Monetization Sustain Its Mid-Teens Growth?

PayPal Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of PYPL opened at $59.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.21. The stock has a market cap of $50.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.15.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 14.36%.The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. PayPal's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. PayPal's payout ratio is presently 10.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus set a $70.00 price target on PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on PayPal from $46.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $50.00 price objective on PayPal in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded PayPal from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on PayPal from $43.50 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.72.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total value of $77,679.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $128,749.60. This represents a 37.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total transaction of $196,194.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,260.18. This represents a 9.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,612 shares of company stock valued at $484,534. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PayPal Company 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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