Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Purchases 3,578 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI boosted its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,327 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,578 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's holdings in Global Payments were worth $9,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its stake in Global Payments by 0.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,068 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.33.

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Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE GPN opened at $100.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $140.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.72.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's payout ratio is 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.

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