Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $61.50 Million Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 1,559.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 548,833 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 515,763 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.22% of Global Payments worth $61,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Stanley Capital Management LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 18.9% in the second quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 125,608 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,146,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $330,516,000 after acquiring an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Global Payments by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $562,000. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,184,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPN shares. Oppenheimer began coverage on Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. William Blair lowered Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BTIG Research cut Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $135.71.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.1 %

Global Payments stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $109.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,198,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,497,149. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The company has a market cap of $27.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm's 50 day moving average is $114.12 and its 200 day moving average is $106.97.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

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.