First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 272,856 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 137,729 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.11% of Global Payments worth $30,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 374.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 569 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE:GPN traded up $2.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $76.69. 1,814,207 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,427,587. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.93 and a 52-week high of $126.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.82. The firm has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. As a group, analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPN shares. Stephens lowered Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, April 18th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.86.

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.