Palogic Value Management L.P. Grows Position in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Palogic Value Management L.P. increased its stake in Global Payments by 155.0%, holding 32,905 shares valued at approximately $3.22 million, making it the fund's 17th largest holding.
• Global Payments recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.1%, highlighting its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Analysts remain positive on Global Payments, with a consensus price target of $112.21 and reports of ten analysts rating the stock as a Buy.

Palogic Value Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 155.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,905 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the quarter. Global Payments makes up 1.4% of Palogic Value Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Palogic Value Management L.P.'s holdings in Global Payments were worth $3,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 4,866.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 9,580.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GPN traded down $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,403,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,761,893. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.93 and a 12-month high of $120.00. The stock has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average is $83.14 and its 200 day moving average is $84.96. 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 released 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen downgraded Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.21.

Global Payments Company 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.