Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lessened its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GPN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Global Payments by 65.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew 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 worth $61,502,000 after purchasing an additional 515,763 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 490,411 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter worth about $47,113,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 925.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 417,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,794,000 after purchasing an additional 377,087 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Up 2.2 %

GPN opened at $105.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $140.38. The company has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.95.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly 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). Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens cut shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.