13,227 Shares in Global Payments Inc. $GPN Acquired by Private Client Services LLC

Key Points

• Private Client Services LLC acquired 13,227 shares of Global Payments Inc. valued at approximately $1,059,000 in the second quarter.
• Recent analyst upgrades have set a higher price target for Global Payments, with UBS raising it from $85.00 to $93.00 and KeyCorp increasing it to $100.00.
• Global Payments has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which will be paid on September 26th, representing an annual yield of 1.2%.

Private Client Services LLC bought a new position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 13,227 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,059,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 546.6% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 4,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GPN. UBS Group lifted their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN opened at $85.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.93 and a 52-week high of $120.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $84.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.08.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%.The business's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

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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