Cozad Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 86.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,154 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 34,084 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Global Payments were worth $528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Poplar Forest Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,184,000. Family Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.4% in the third quarter. Family Asset Management LLC now owns 10,797 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 86,298 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,839,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 3,267 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 158.6% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 491,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,322,000 after acquiring an additional 301,358 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE GPN traded down $0.81 on Friday, hitting $111.11. 1,573,657 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,288,402. The firm has a market cap of $28.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $104.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.83. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 13.61%. Global Payments's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GPN. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment 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.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.50.

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.