Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,153 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,533 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Global Payments were worth $13,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in 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 valued at $330,516,000 after buying an additional 349,457 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $562,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,184,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Down 2.3 %

Global Payments stock traded down $2.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $103.19. The stock had a trading volume of 2,189,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,744,548. The company has a market capitalization of $25.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.82. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $140.38. 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 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). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. On average, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.