Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 9.7% in Q1, holding 45,400 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million after selling 4,900 shares.
• Global Payments' stock opened at $80.96, with a market cap of $19.64 billion and a one-year trading range between $65.93 and $120.00.
• The company announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend, representing a yield of 1.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 12th.

Forsta AP Fonden cut its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,400 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,900 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 346.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 912,667 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $89,368,000 after purchasing an additional 708,451 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 45.5% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 256,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,082,000 after acquiring an additional 80,083 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 15.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 461,001 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,141,000 after acquiring an additional 63,185 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 17.1% in the first quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 2,897 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,624,288 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $159,050,000 after purchasing an additional 9,755 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.29. 2,695,182 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,674,437. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $80.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Global Payments's payout ratio is 17.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on GPN. Mizuho upgraded Global Payments from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $105.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Williams Trading set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a report on Friday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.