Banco Santander S.A. Trims Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Banco Santander S.A. cut its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 295.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.7% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Global Payments by 10.6% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 9,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Global Payments by 2.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 299,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,638,000 after buying an additional 8,078 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN opened at $97.06 on Tuesday. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $140.38. The firm has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.63.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. 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 report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.