Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 17,980 Shares of Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 4.4%, acquiring an additional 17,980 shares, bringing its total holdings to 422,046 shares valued at approximately $33.78 million.
• Global Payments reported earnings of $3.10 per share for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, with a 1.6% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company recently declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 17.48% as of the latest announcement.

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 422,046 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,980 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc. owned about 0.17% of Global Payments worth $33,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Global Payments by 546.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 438 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.5%

Global Payments stock opened at $87.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $85.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.93 and a 1-year high of $120.00.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.04. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPN. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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 increased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.75.

About Global Payments

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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