PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL Shares Sold by Spire Wealth Management

Key Points

• Spire Wealth Management cut its PayPal stake by 88.7% in Q4, selling 23,954 shares, and insiders/institutions have also been net sellers (87,608 insider shares sold in the last 90 days), signaling diminished confidence among major holders.
• PayPal is investing $400M to revive branded checkout but posted a Q4 EPS and revenue miss, has seen analyst downgrades, and faces multiple class-action lawsuits, creating execution and legal risks that could pressure the stock near-term.

Spire Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 88.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,049 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 23,954 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in PayPal were worth $178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,490 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,612 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $282,000. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. raised its holdings in PayPal by 132.7% in the 4th quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. now owns 13,150 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 246.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 27,773 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,621,000 after buying an additional 19,746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal said it is investing aggressively to revive branded checkout growth (reported as a $400M push and product/monetization focus), which could support revenue recovery if execution improves. PayPal (PYPL) Invests $400M to Revive Checkout Growth
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal remains active in stablecoin and cross-border payments initiatives — a strategic area with regulatory complexity but meaningful long-term upside if it captures flows. Stablecoins roll on as rules evolve
• Neutral Sentiment: Loop Capital initiated coverage with a Hold and a $46 target, flagging execution risks and margin pressure — a middling analyst view that may cap upside until results/stability improve. Loop Capital initiates coverage of PayPal (PYPL) with hold recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple plaintiff law firms (Bragar Eagel & Squire, Howard G. Smith, Schall Law, Rosen, Pomerantz and Labaton Keller Sucharow) have publicized securities class-action filings and lead-plaintiff deadlines related to PayPal, increasing legal costs, uncertainty and potential settlements. Bragar Eagel & Squire reminder Rosen Law Firm reminder Labaton Keller Sucharow expanded filing
• Negative Sentiment: Press coverage highlights operational struggles: branded checkout slowdown, intensifying competition from Apple/Google, and leadership turnover — factors that heighten execution risk and weigh on sentiment. LA Times: PayPal transformed digital payments...
• Negative Sentiment: Aggregated market commentary and data highlight insider selling and large institutional reductions (e.g., UBS, Clearbridge), suggesting diminished confidence among some major holders and potential supply pressure. Quiver Quant summary
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/commentary pieces tie weak Q4 results and prior guidance/execution issues to the new lawsuits and board/management changes, reinforcing short-term downside risk until clarity on execution and legal exposure is provided. TipRanks: Why PYPL stock is crashing

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $621,960.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,837.66. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $1,361,317.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

PayPal Price Performance

PayPal stock opened at $45.34 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $45.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.35. The stock has a market cap of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.40. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.PayPal's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. PayPal's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $61.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.11.

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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