Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 165.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 68,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,599 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $7,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE GPN opened at $93.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.99 and a twelve month high of $140.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $106.81 and its 200 day moving average is $108.40.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

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.