PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Rating Increased to Hold at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.39.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL opened at $51.22 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.40. PayPal has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The company had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PayPal 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 Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at $50,992.20. This represents a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $621,960.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,837.66. This represents a 30.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maia Wealth LLC raised its position in PayPal by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN boosted its position in PayPal by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 56,934 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,818,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,043 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,679,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Company 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.