Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank reduced its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 29.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 360,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 146,889 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $48,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,909 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,343,000 after purchasing an additional 12,980 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Global Payments by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 44,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,605,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $232,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced 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. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $172.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.32.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Up 2.5 %

GPN stock traded up $2.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.19. 1,734,645 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,310,278. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.57. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given 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 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.