Hilltop Holdings Inc. Decreases Holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Hilltop Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 44.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,511 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 9,399 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PayPal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,043,000. Step Capital Management Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,130,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in PayPal by 4.9% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,608,600 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $117,987,000 after purchasing an additional 121,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in PayPal by 705.2% in the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 100,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,876,000 after purchasing an additional 88,151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: One analysis argues that PayPal still looks inexpensive on a standalone basis, suggesting the stock could remain attractive even if Stripe does not pursue another offer. PayPal Acquisition Rumors: Is the Stock Still a Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal’s earnings report is the immediate catalyst. Investors will assess payment-volume growth, revenue, profitability, guidance, and whether management addresses the Stripe proposal. Prediction-market commentary indicates that deal-related language could have an outsized effect on the shares relative to the quarterly figures. PayPal Prediction Market Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and prediction-market participants are focused on whether PayPal can beat expectations in the second quarter, with results scheduled before the market open. A strong report could reinforce the standalone valuation case, while a miss would increase pressure for strategic action. Polymarket Earnings Odds
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings estimates point to lower margins despite higher payment volume. That could make the quarter’s headline growth less compelling and heighten the importance of any update on the Stripe bid or other strategic alternatives. PayPal Q2 Earnings Margin Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: With the takeover proposal reportedly rejected, investors face uncertainty over whether negotiations could resume. Failure to secure a deal or provide a meaningful strategic update may leave the stock dependent on improving margins and execution. PayPal Stock in Focus as Wall Street Eyes Response to Stripe Bid

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $56.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $49.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.02. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $79.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The business had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays raised shares of PayPal from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,768,260.18. This represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

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.