Guggenheim Capital LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Guggenheim Capital LLC cut its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 69.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,499 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,619 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Global Payments by 374.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 569 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN opened at $71.39 on Wednesday. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.93 and a 1 year high of $127.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GPN. Williams Trading set a $75.00 price objective on Global Payments in a research note on Friday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.36.

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.

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