Global Payments Inc. $GPN Position Reduced by DRW Securities LLC

Key Points

• DRW Securities LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Global Payments Inc. by 93.2%, selling 32,077 shares and bringing its ownership down to 2,343 shares. The current value of its holdings stands at $229,000.
• Global Payments announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.1%, with the payment scheduled for September 26th for shareholders of record.
• Despite recent selling by DRW Securities, analysts maintain a positive outlook on the stock, with ten analysts rating it as a Buy and an average target price of $112.21.

DRW Securities LLC cut its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 93.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,343 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 32,077 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth $685,000. Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 114.4% in the 1st quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 18,305 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 9,768 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 282,933 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,705,000 after acquiring an additional 8,947 shares during the period. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 85.0% in the 1st quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE GPN traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.69. 1,398,828 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,242,216. The business's 50-day moving average price is $83.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.56. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.93 and a twelve month high of $120.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.21.

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.