Equitable Trust Co. Has $4.31 Million Holdings in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in Global Payments Inc. by 194.3% in the second quarter, now owning 53,896 shares valued at $4.31 million.
• Global Payments has been rated by analysts with a consensus "Hold" rating and an average target price of $103.75, with several recent reports including upgrades from Mizuho and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a 1.2% annual yield and a payout ratio of 17.48%.

Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 194.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,896 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 35,583 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 546.6% during the 1st 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. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPN has been the subject of several recent research reports. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho upgraded Global Payments from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, TD Cowen cut Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.75.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $84.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.05. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%.The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments 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 transaction of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GPN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.