Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,532 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,376 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 3rd 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 increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,164,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 5.9% in the 4th 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. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in Global Payments by 27.2% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 543 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.4 %

GPN stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.59. 1,655,531 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,727,064. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.78. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $140.38.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 12.08 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.33.

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.