Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Bought by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 186,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $20,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 94.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE GPN opened at $100.10 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $104.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.49. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.99 and a 12 month high of $135.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GPN. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

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.