AM Investment Strategies LLC Has $1.08 Million Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

AM Investment Strategies LLC lessened its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,593 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Global Payments by 65.0% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 2,054 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 18,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 64.5% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,439,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 49,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,778,000 after purchasing an additional 18,324 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPN. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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 Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.71.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $108.92 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $113.40 and its 200 day moving average is $107.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.