Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Bought by Rock Point Advisors LLC

Rock Point Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 96.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 57,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,117 shares during the period. Global Payments makes up 1.7% of Rock Point Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Rock Point Advisors LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the first quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Global Payments by 54.5% in the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in Global Payments by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GPN. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stephens lowered their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. William Blair raised Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $110.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The company has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $103.96 and its 200-day moving average is $110.76.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Global Payments’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.84%.

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.