Fiduciary Alliance LLC Takes Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,046 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 3.4% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,638,862 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $679,952,000 after purchasing an additional 215,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,445 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $605,078,000 after purchasing an additional 31,934 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 1.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $564,437,000 after purchasing an additional 83,481 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Global Payments by 13.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 22.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $271,090,000 after purchasing an additional 490,411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $108.16. 2,154,242 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,509,051. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $114.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stephens cut shares of Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $135.71.

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.