Capital International Investors Increases Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,044,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,155 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 0.41% of Global Payments worth $139,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 524 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Global Payments by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Global Payments by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in Global Payments by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 453 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $157.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $129.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.32.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 25,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,770.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN traded up $2.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.19. 1,778,747 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,989,694. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.57.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.07. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

Global Payments Company 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.