4,662 Shares in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Acquired by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Global Payments Inc. worth around $457,000 during the first quarter.
• Global Payments recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%.
• The company reported a net margin of 15.07% and earnings per share of $3.10, surpassing analysts' expectations for the quarter.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,662 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at $393,000. Factorial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 8.9% in the first quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 42,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych boosted its stake in Global Payments by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 7,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 85.0% during the 1st quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth about $353,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $82.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,695,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,825,770. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.93 and a twelve month high of $120.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. The company 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut 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 note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $105.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.