Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Acquired by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 101.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,461 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 0.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its position in Global Payments by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its position in Global Payments by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Global Payments by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 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, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Stephens lowered Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $101.46 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $140.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

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.