Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $1.82 Million Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,510 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 11.1% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 888 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 311.4% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 7,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Global Payments by 0.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 41,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,597,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $116.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.32. The company has a market cap of $29.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, William Blair lowered Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.50.

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.