Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $13.91 Million Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,533 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $13,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 59.6% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN stock opened at $105.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.97 and a 200-day moving average of $108.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 13.61%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on GPN. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stephens cut shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.