PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• John G Ullman & Associates Inc. cut its PayPal stake by 82.4% in the first quarter, selling 31,650 shares and leaving it with 6,780 shares worth about $307,000.
• Wall Street remains cautious on PYPL: analysts’ overall consensus is Hold, with an average price target of $54.61 even as several firms recently adjusted their targets and ratings.
• PayPal posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equal to a 1.0% annualized yield.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lowered its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 82.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,780 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 31,650 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s holdings in PayPal were worth $307,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in PayPal by 2.5% during the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 6.2% in the third quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 25,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on PayPal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on PayPal from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.61.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $56.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.23. The company has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $79.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. PayPal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.51%.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

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 Transactions at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value of $196,194.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,768,260.18. This trade represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PayPal 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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