Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 48,452 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its PayPal stake by 11.7% in Q4, buying 48,452 shares to hold 463,016 shares worth $27.03 million.
• Market views are mixed: an NFL partnership and some bullish analyst notes boosted sentiment, but PayPal recently missed EPS/revenue estimates and the consensus rating remains Hold with an average target of $56.39.
• Insiders have been net sellers (87,608 shares sold, ~$3.83M over 90 days) while institutional investors own about 68.32% of the stock.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 463,016 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 48,452 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in PayPal were worth $27,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 285.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 524 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Dagco Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1,250.0% in the third quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 120.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 545 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal locked in a high-visibility partnership as the official P2P payments partner of the NFL — a marketing and user-acquisition catalyst that spurred a recent price pop. PYPL Stock Pops Past $50 as PayPal Locks Down NFL Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $55 after the NFL deal, reflecting a constructive view that the partnership and brand momentum could support growth and multiple expansion. PayPal (PYPL) Stock: Bank of America Raises Target to $55 After NFL Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish write-ups argue PYPL looks inexpensive on trailing and forward P/E metrics and present a turnaround thesis tied to product execution and cost control. These narratives support longer-term upside if execution improves. Is PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital initiated coverage with a Market Perform / “hold” view, which signals no immediate upside conviction from that shop and may cap near-term enthusiasm. BMO Capital initiates coverage of PayPal Holdings (PYPL) with market perform recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage is high — Zacks and other outlets flag PYPL as a trending/closely watched stock, meaning headlines and flows (not fundamentals) may drive short-term moves. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal’s most recent quarterly report showed a modest EPS and revenue miss and only low single-digit revenue growth, which keeps near-term fundamentals under scrutiny and can pressure the stock despite the partnership news. Is It Time To Reconsider PayPal (PYPL) After Recent Share Price Weakness?

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of PayPal 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 $1,361,317.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total transaction of $1,560,563.37. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,484.67. This represents a 54.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 over the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $63.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.39.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $49.75 on Friday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The company has a market capitalization of $44.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $45.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. PayPal's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. PayPal's payout ratio is currently 10.35%.

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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