40,803 Shares in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Bought by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 40,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,572,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% in 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 during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 1.2% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in Global Payments by 27.2% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.6 %

Global Payments stock opened at $108.41 on Monday. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.15. The stock has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.00.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GPN. StockNews.com downgraded Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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. Seaport Res Ptn cut Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.71.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.