Geometric Wealth Advisors Takes Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Geometric Wealth Advisors bought 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 Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,242 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPN. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.33.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of GPN traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $92.16. The stock had a trading volume of 3,094,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,071,489. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.99 and a 12 month high of $136.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

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 (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. Equities research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.