AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Lowers Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,532 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,376 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Global Payments by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 242,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Global Payments by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 50,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 26,104 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Global Payments by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 84,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,511,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, Edmp Inc. grew its position in Global Payments by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 8,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:GPN opened at $105.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.56. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The company has a market cap of $26.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 13.61%. On average, analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPN. Stephens downgraded Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

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.