Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $3.93 Million Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its PayPal stake by 31.2% in Q1, ending with 86,907 shares worth about $3.93 million.
• PayPal reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, posting EPS of $1.34 versus the $1.27 consensus and revenue of $8.35 billion, up 7.2% year over year.
• The stock has drawn mixed sentiment: analysts are mostly cautious with an average “Hold” rating, while recent reports say PayPal’s board views the rumored $53 billion Stripe-Advent bid as inadequate.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 31.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,907 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,661 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in PayPal were worth $3,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in PayPal by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,276,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in PayPal by 355.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,967,170 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $224,665,000 after purchasing an additional 3,875,688 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 143.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,089,586 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $297,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 261.5% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,291,213 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $133,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,458 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $56.56 on Monday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $44.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.14.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal's payout ratio is currently 10.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value of $196,194.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,260.18. This represents a 9.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623. Insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PYPL shares. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of PayPal from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.61.

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

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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