Bush Investment Group LLC Has $478,000 Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Bush Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. Global Payments comprises about 0.4% of Bush Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Bush Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,984 shares during the last quarter. Focused Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $99,969,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Global Payments by 1,559.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,502,000 after purchasing an additional 515,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,700,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens lowered shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.10.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $84.82 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.33 and a 12-month high of $129.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $102.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.18%.

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.