Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 363,581 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 892.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 404,326 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 363,581 shares during the quarter. Global Payments accounts for 0.6% of Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Blue Trust Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Global Payments worth $45,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter worth $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Global Payments by 59.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.4 %

Global Payments stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $106.59. 1,655,568 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,728,724. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $110.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.78. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $140.38. 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 PE ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.01.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. Research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 12.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.