Global Payments Inc. $GPN Shares Acquired by Contour Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Contour Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Global Payments Inc. by 5.8%, now holding approximately $136.53 million worth of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally optimistic outlook on Global Payments, with price targets rising from $79.00 to as high as $114.00, reflecting increased confidence in the company's performance.
• Global Payments announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, reflecting a yield of 1.1%, and its dividend payout ratio stands at 17.48%.

Contour Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,394,330 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 76,330 shares during the quarter. Global Payments accounts for about 5.4% of Contour Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Contour Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.57% of Global Payments worth $136,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GPN. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 75,379.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,517,141 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $148,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515,131 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter worth about $94,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 346.9% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 912,667 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $89,368,000 after acquiring an additional 708,451 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,656,830 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,664,000 after acquiring an additional 479,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 17,136.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 365,063 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,747,000 after acquiring an additional 362,945 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

GPN stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $87.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,398,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,242,216. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.71. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $120.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,318. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. TD Cowen downgraded Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.21.

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.