Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 49,029 Shares of Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 2.6%, now owning about 1,955,393 shares valued at approximately $191.45 million.
• Global Payments recently reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Global Payments, with a consensus target price of $112.21 and recent upgrades from some firms, while others have downgraded their price objectives.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,955,393 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,029 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.80% of Global Payments worth $191,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $1,708,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 4,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at about $685,000. Argyle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 114.4% during the 1st quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 18,305 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 9,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 282,933 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,705,000 after purchasing an additional 8,947 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GPN. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Global Payments from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.21.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of Global Payments 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,318. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN traded up $4.2310 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.9510. The company had a trading volume of 2,329,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,806,029. The company's 50 day moving average price is $81.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.23. 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 stock has a market cap of $21.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.93 and a 52-week high of $120.00.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors 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 currently 17.48%.

Global Payments 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.