Leavell Investment Management Inc. Buys 328 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 328 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $9,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 3.4% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,638,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $679,952,000 after buying an additional 215,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $605,078,000 after buying an additional 31,934 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 1.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $564,437,000 after buying an additional 83,481 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $330,516,000 after buying an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 22.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,090,000 after buying an additional 490,411 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $106.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $27.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.51. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.