Costello Asset Management INC Lowers Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Costello Asset Management INC cut its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 93.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 355 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,900 shares during the quarter. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $40,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 134.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

Insider Activity

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN stock opened at $112.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The stock has a market cap of $28.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $112.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.00.

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.