MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Global Payments by 4.3%, now holding 64,435 shares valued at $6.31 million as of the last reporting period.
• Global Payments reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, slightly exceeding consensus expectations of $3.06, with revenue of $2.36 billion, marking a 1.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%, set to be paid on September 26th.

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,435 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,922 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $6,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,334,097 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $816,075,000 after acquiring an additional 35,251 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,906,444 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $325,698,000 after acquiring an additional 259,590 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,730,471 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $305,977,000 after acquiring an additional 305,987 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,955,393 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $191,451,000 after acquiring an additional 49,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,656,830 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,664,000 after acquiring an additional 479,791 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:GPN traded up $0.66 on Monday, reaching $88.88. 1,818,326 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,606,411. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.96. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.93 and a 12 month high of $120.00.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. The firm 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of 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 increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.