Acadian Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 61,847 Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased 61,847 shares of Global Payments Inc. for around $6.05 million during the first quarter.
• Global Payments has a high institutional ownership of 89.76%, indicating strong interest from institutional investors and hedge funds.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with an annual yield of 1.2%, payable on September 26th.

Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 61,847 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,054,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4,866.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $685,000. Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 114.4% in the first quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 18,305 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 9,768 shares in the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 282,933 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,705,000 after acquiring an additional 8,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 85.0% in the first quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPN has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.21.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $85.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.96. The firm has a market cap 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. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.93 and a 1 year high of $120.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.48%.

Global Payments Company 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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