Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 35,032 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its PayPal stake by 3.0% in the first quarter, selling 35,032 shares and ending with 1,127,271 shares valued at about $50.99 million.
• PayPal reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, posting $1.34 EPS on $8.35 billion in revenue, both above analyst forecasts, while revenue rose 7.2% year over year.
• PayPal’s stock has been drawn into takeover speculation after reports of interest from Stripe and Advent, with the company’s board said to view the $53 billion proposal as inadequate and analysts suggesting a higher bid may be needed.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,127,271 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 35,032 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of PayPal worth $50,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

PayPal Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $56.56 on Friday. 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 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business's 50-day moving average is $44.60 and its 200-day moving average is $47.23. The company has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The firm's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 10.51%.

Key Headlines 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Citigroup raised their target price on PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on PayPal from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623 in the last quarter. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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