Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Focused Investors LLC

Focused Investors LLC decreased its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 872,300 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,800 shares during the period. Global Payments makes up about 2.7% of Focused Investors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Focused Investors LLC owned about 0.35% of Global Payments worth $85,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4,866.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.36.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of GPN traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $79.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,527,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,849,878. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. 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 $19.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50 day moving average is $78.53 and its 200 day moving average is $91.44.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 15.48%. The business's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.13%.

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.