29,499 Shares in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Acquired by BIP Alliance LLC

BIP Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 29,499 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,306,000. Global Payments accounts for approximately 1.4% of BIP Alliance LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,219 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth about $277,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Global Payments by 770.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,819 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,545 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,535,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 4,737 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $75.79. 3,095,176 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,472,649. The stock has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.93 and a twelve month high of $120.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $82.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.21.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.09. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Global Payments's payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their target price on Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Global Payments from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.43.

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.