PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its PayPal stake by 44.1% in the first quarter, selling 82,674 shares and leaving it with 104,820 shares worth about $4.74 million.
• PayPal is drawing attention from takeover speculation, with reports that the Stripe-Advent $53 billion bid may be viewed as too low and could prompt a higher offer or further negotiations.
• Despite recent insider selling and a mostly cautious analyst outlook, PayPal reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $1.34 on revenue of $8.35 billion, and also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share.

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 44.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,820 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 82,674 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in PayPal were worth $4,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in PayPal by 15,233.3% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The reported takeover interest from Stripe and Advent has fueled speculation that PayPal could be worth more than the current offer, with several analysts and investors arguing the bid is too low. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary suggests the bid could force a higher valuation for PYPL, potentially supporting further upside if negotiations continue or a competing offer emerges. Yahoo Finance: Cantor sees potential for higher PayPal offer as analysis suggests $70/share value
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal’s board has reportedly not formally responded yet, so the deal is still early-stage and subject to negotiation, financing, and regulatory risk. Yahoo Finance weekly review
• Negative Sentiment: The board is said to view the $53 billion proposal as inadequate, which could mean a longer path to any deal or no deal at all if a higher price does not materialize. PYMNTS: PayPal Board Calls $53 Billion Stripe-Advent Bid Inadequate

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total value of $536,170.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,076,687.32. The trade was a 20.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the sale, 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 position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, May 8th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.61.

PayPal Trading Down 0.3%

PYPL opened at $56.56 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.46 and a 12-month high of $79.50. 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 has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $44.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.23.

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

PayPal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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