Advisory Services Network LLC Has $1.28 Million Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 96.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,450 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,617 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Global Payments by 374.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 569 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens downgraded 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 research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $124.73.

Global Payments Trading Down 17.4 %

NYSE GPN traded down $14.62 on Friday, reaching $69.50. The company had a trading volume of 17,553,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,313,527. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.48 and a 52 week high of $127.66. The stock's 50 day moving average is $96.25 and its 200-day moving average is $105.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $17.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is 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.