Camelot Portfolios LLC Boosts Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Camelot Portfolios LLC boosted its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 2.3 %

Global Payments stock opened at $103.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $140.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $109.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.82.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. Analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GPN. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.