Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Purchased by Citigroup Inc.

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 45.5% during the 1st quarter, owning approximately 256,152 shares valued at $25.08 million.
• Several institutional investors, including SG Americas Securities and Bridgewater Associates, also significantly increased their holdings in Global Payments, reflecting strong interest in the stock.
• Global Payments has a current consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $112.21, and recently reported an EPS of $3.10 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations.

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 45.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 256,152 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 80,083 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.10% of Global Payments worth $25,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter worth $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 317 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4,866.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $105.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.21.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE GPN traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $86.83. 2,167,859 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,658,856. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.93 and a 52-week high of $120.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50-day moving average is $80.67 and its 200-day moving average is $86.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Global Payments's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

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.