Sterling Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 474,179 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 75,698 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned 0.19% of Global Payments worth $53,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 177.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stephens lowered Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.81.

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Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN traded down $1.16 on Wednesday, hitting $84.26. The stock had a trading volume of 516,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,508. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $97.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.46. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.83 and a 52-week high of $127.66.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Global Payments's 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.