Vontobel Holding Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,387 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $105.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GPN. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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 increased their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

About Global Payments

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.