Czech National Bank Acquires 2,826 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 48,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 46,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,963,000 after purchasing an additional 12,273 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 82,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,499,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 255,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,064,000 after buying an additional 15,655 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE GPN traded up $0.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $102.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 474,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,296,346. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $97.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.17. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Global Payments from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $163.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.92.

Global Payments 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.