Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 327.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,121 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,005 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GPN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $122.00 target price (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens cut Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $135.76.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.5 %

GPN stock traded up $1.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $105.67. 1,975,846 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,514,933. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 13.61%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.