Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Boosts Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,860 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted 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, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Global Payments by 27.2% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.6 %

Global Payments stock opened at $103.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $109.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.00. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $140.38.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

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.