Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.73 Million in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 17,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,730,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 67.1% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 10,330 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Global Payments by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 34,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 7,369 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth $365,933,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $587,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on GPN shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $147.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday. William Blair upgraded shares of Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.96.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $112.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98. 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 fifty day moving average of $104.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.36.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.84%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.