Woodline Partners LP Purchases 130,577 Shares of Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Global Payments by 189.5% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.08% of the company valued at $19.5 million.
• Global Payments reported $3.10 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.6% to $2.36 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 17.48%.

Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 189.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 199,493 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 130,577 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.08% of Global Payments worth $19,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Global Payments by 546.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Global Payments Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of GPN stock traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $85.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,344,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,990,322. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $65.93 and a one year high of $120.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $84.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.08.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%.The firm's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Global Payments's payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.