Global Payments Inc. $GPN Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Global Payments Inc. by 74.2%, owning approximately 0.19% of the company worth $44.45 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for GPN, with Mizuho boosting the target price from $86.00 to $114.00, reflecting a generally bullish outlook on the stock.
• Global Payments reported a 1.6% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, earning $3.10 EPS, beating estimates by $0.04, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 74.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 453,962 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 193,351 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.19% of Global Payments worth $44,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 546.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 9,580.0% in the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 484 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.21.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $87.42. 645,677 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,757,135. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.97. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $120.00. The firm has a market cap of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.