Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Has $794,000 Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 227.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,096 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,622 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $349,000. Oribel Capital Management LP boosted its position in Global Payments by 495.1% during the fourth quarter. Oribel Capital Management LP now owns 521,300 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $58,417,000 after purchasing an additional 433,700 shares during the last quarter. Focused Investors LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $99,969,000. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in Global Payments by 88.6% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 892,958 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $100,065,000 after purchasing an additional 419,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,614,533 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $180,925,000 after purchasing an additional 72,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

GPN stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,007,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,724. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.93 and a 52 week high of $120.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 12.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.91.

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.