Oak Thistle LLC Purchases New Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,087,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $646,151,000 after acquiring an additional 132,635 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,402,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $392,657,000 after purchasing an additional 89,057 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 338.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,288,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $379,416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537,941 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,980,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $379,777,000 after purchasing an additional 76,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $365,933,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Global Payments stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $95.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,959,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,353,573. The firm has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $105.12 and a 200 day moving average of $121.48.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.07. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GPN shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $182.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $163.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.68.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,806,770.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Profile

Global Payments Inc provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through two segments, Merchant Solutions and Issuer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization, settlement and funding, customer support, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security, and consolidated billing and reporting services.