Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 22.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,917 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,417 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,963 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,228,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 33,902 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,795,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,932 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 10,382 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN traded down $1.11 on Friday, reaching $81.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,303,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,505,501. The stock's 50-day moving average is $78.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.87. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.93 and a 52-week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.09. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 12.33%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid 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 dividend yield of 1.22%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPN has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.55.

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.