Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. trimmed its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 596 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,516,000 after buying an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth $562,000. Poplar Forest Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $13,184,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Global Payments by 1,559.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,502,000 after purchasing an additional 515,763 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on GPN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens lowered shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $112.92 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $112.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.91. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The firm has a market cap of $28.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 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.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.