Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company cut its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Global Payments by 3.4% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,638,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $679,952,000 after buying an additional 215,399 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $605,078,000 after acquiring an additional 31,934 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $564,437,000 after acquiring an additional 83,481 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position 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 worth $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,090,000 after purchasing an additional 490,411 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $108.41 on Friday. 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 moving average price is $114.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.08. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.00.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GPN. Oppenheimer began coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.71.

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.