Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL lowered its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,976 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,720 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Global Payments were worth $3,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 177.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 94.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. Barclays cut their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Stephens downgraded Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.10.

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Global Payments Stock Performance

Global Payments stock traded down $8.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.82. 6,326,947 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,180,256. The firm's fifty day moving average is $102.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.79. The company has a market capitalization of $20.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.50 and a fifty-two week high of $129.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

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.