Candriam S.C.A. Grows Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,246 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc grew its holdings in Global Payments by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,164,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in 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. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Global Payments by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,068 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN traded down $0.74 on Thursday, reaching $92.16. The company had a trading volume of 3,094,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,948. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.99 and a 52-week high of $140.38. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $106.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.40.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Global Payments's payout ratio is 16.18%.

About Global Payments

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.