QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 21,666 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its PayPal stake by 12.3% in the second quarter, adding 21,666 shares for a total of 197,321 shares valued at approximately $8.52 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 68.32% of PayPal’s stock; major new positions included BlackRock, Bank of America, Norges Bank and Primecap Management.
• PayPal exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.38 EPS and $8.68 billion in revenue. Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $56.03, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 197,321 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,666 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in PayPal were worth $8,520,000 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. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth $3,236,989,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $975,563,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $949,758,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in PayPal in the second quarter valued at about $422,092,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in PayPal during the second quarter worth about $20,758,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $52.60 on Friday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.46 and a fifty-two week high of $79.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The company had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. PayPal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.59%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.43, for a total transaction of $255,643.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,304,058.81. This represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,216 shares in the company, valued at $128,749.60. This represents a 37.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,774 shares of company stock worth $848,095. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $48.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $50.00 target price on PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on PayPal from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.03.

PayPal Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc is a digital payments and financial technology company that operates a global platform for consumers and businesses. Its services enable customers to send and receive money, make purchases online and in stores, and accept payments through digital checkout solutions. PayPal supports transactions using linked bank accounts, debit and credit cards, stored balances and other payment methods.

The company's consumer and merchant offerings include the PayPal wallet, PayPal Checkout, PayPal Zettle point-of-sale tools, PayPal Braintree payment processing and PayPal Complete Payments.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.