CenterBook Partners LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

CenterBook Partners LP cut its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 79.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,600 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 13,734 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Global Payments were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GPN. AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $349,000. Oribel Capital Management LP increased 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 worth $58,417,000 after acquiring an additional 433,700 shares during the period. Focused Investors LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $99,969,000. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in Global Payments by 88.6% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 892,958 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $100,065,000 after acquiring an additional 419,443 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $1,708,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE GPN traded down $1.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,303,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,508,541. 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 0.66, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $19.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.66.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on GPN shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Global Payments from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Cowen lowered shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.55.

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.