LPL Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 34.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,430 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,498 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $14,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Global Payments by 94.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Global Payments by 177.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 8.8 %

Shares of GPN traded down $8.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,326,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,180,256. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $84.50 and a 12-month high of $129.35. The stock has a market cap of $20.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $102.35 and its 200 day moving average is $106.76.

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Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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. One equities research 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.10.

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.