BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Sells 12,297 Shares of Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S has reduced its position in Global Payments Inc. by 65.8%, owning 6,404 shares worth approximately $627,000 after selling 12,297 shares in the first quarter.
• Global Payments reported a net margin of 15.07% with earnings per share of $3.10, surpassing analyst expectations of $3.06, and revenue for the quarter amounted to $2.36 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with a dividend payout ratio of 17.48% and an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% set to be paid on September 26th.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 65.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,404 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,297 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Global Payments were worth $627,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 33,902 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,795,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 3.8% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,932 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 7.9% during the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,342 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 10,382 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPN has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GPN traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $88.55. 437,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,765,464. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.48. The company has a market capitalization of $21.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.93 and a 12 month 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 announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.48%.

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.