Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 479,206 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $53,700,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.19% of Global Payments at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPN. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $122.00 target price (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.33.

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Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $93.35 on Wednesday. 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. The company has a market cap of $23.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.51.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. Research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of 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 at this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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