River Road Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 460,738 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 30,593 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Global Payments worth $51,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,760,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc grew its position in Global Payments by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in Global Payments by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Global Payments by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Global Payments by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,068 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $92.16. 3,094,715 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,071,489. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.99 and a 1 year high of $136.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.42 and a 200-day moving average of $108.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS 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 company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens downgraded Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.