Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 40.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,600 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,080 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in Global Payments were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN traded down $2.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $103.19. 2,189,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,744,548. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $25.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $109.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.82. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $140.38.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Global Payments's payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens downgraded Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.33.

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.