Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 129.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,988 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,769 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth $725,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,288 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Global Payments by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 31,016 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 4,246 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 327.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,927,000 after acquiring an additional 20,005 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $105.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.91.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.1%

GPN stock opened at $76.88 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.93 and a 52 week high of $120.00. The company has a market capitalization of $18.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's 50-day moving average is $79.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.09. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Global Payments's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.