Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,705 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,173 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Global Payments were worth $7,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $345,823,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 75,379.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,517,141 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $148,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515,131 shares in the last quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $147,695,000. Focused Investors LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $99,969,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $185,664,000 after purchasing an additional 479,791 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GPN shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $79.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.09.

Global Payments Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Global Payments stock traded down $2.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.88. 2,334,705 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,503,667. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.94. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.93 and a twelve month high of $120.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.44.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 12.33%. Global Payments's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.