Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 398 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 398 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $564,437,000 after buying an additional 83,481 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $253,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 44,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,547,000 after acquiring an additional 8,677 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. William Blair downgraded Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.55.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $110.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.81. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Global Payments Company 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.