Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Acquired by Lyrical Asset Management LP

Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,834,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,487 shares during the quarter. Global Payments accounts for about 3.1% of Lyrical Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Lyrical Asset Management LP’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $205,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,969,000 after buying an additional 1,659,984 shares during the last quarter. Focused Investors LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $99,969,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 1,559.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,502,000 after acquiring an additional 515,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,700,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens downgraded Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.10.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $84.82 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $84.50 and a 52-week high of $129.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.79. The company has a market capitalization of $20.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

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.