Amundi Decreases Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Amundi lessened its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,127,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 730,578 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $125,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Global Payments by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Global Payments by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $562,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Global Payments by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 50,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 26,104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective 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 assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $97.06 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.63. 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 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $140.38. The company has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Global Payments’s dividend 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.