Callahan Advisors LLC Has $9.18 Million Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Callahan Advisors LLC cut its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,897 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,401 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $9,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $330,516,000 after buying an additional 349,457 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $562,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $13,184,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut 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 reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Price Performance

Global Payments stock traded down $2.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,189,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,744,548. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $140.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $109.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.82. The stock has a market cap of $25.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 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 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

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.