Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Trims Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI decreased its position in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 96.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,966 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 358,061 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in PayPal were worth $586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $949,758,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,215,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $713,158,000 after buying an additional 1,083,843 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,179,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $415,192,000 after buying an additional 376,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in PayPal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 8,493,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $605,488,000 after buying an additional 132,837 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that PayPal rejected a $53 billion takeover bid because the board believes the company is worth more are fueling takeover premium speculation for PayPal (PYPL). PayPal Rejected a $53 Billion Takeover Bid: Is the Stock Undervalued?
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary says PayPal could still be undervalued despite the bid, citing strategic assets like Venmo, PYUSD, and improving operating trends. PayPal Says a $53 Billion Takeover Offer from Stripe Undervalues It. How to Play PYPL Stock Here.
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst remained on the sidelines despite the takeover chatter, suggesting investors are still waiting for clearer evidence that a deal or turnaround will materialize. Analyst Stays on Sidelines for PYPL Despite Stripe, Advent Buyout Offer
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal also faces a near-term earnings backdrop that some previews say could be softer, which may limit upside if the company does not deliver a strong quarter. Earnings Preview: Paypal (PYPL) Q2 Earnings Expected to Decline
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term coverage still highlights slowing growth and stronger competition, which is why the stock remains vulnerable if the takeover narrative fades. How PayPal went from Wall Street favorite to unwilling merger target

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on PayPal from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of PayPal 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total transaction of $66,128.02. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% 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. Insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623 in the last quarter. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PayPal Stock Performance

PayPal stock opened at $55.51 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $48.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.25 and its 200 day moving average is $47.09.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

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

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.