Amundi Lowers Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Amundi lowered its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,127,410 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 730,578 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.44% of Global Payments worth $125,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 0.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc grew its position in Global Payments by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in Global Payments by 4.1% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Global Payments by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Global Payments by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,068 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

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Global Payments Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of Global Payments stock traded down $3.72 on Tuesday, reaching $93.35. 2,568,108 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,081,138. The company has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $140.38. The firm's 50-day moving average is $107.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.63. 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 (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. Sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's payout ratio is 16.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on GPN. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target 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. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Global Payments 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.