Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 27.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 702,123 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 153,290 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.29% of Global Payments worth $68,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of GPN stock traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $78.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,702,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,479,171. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.93 and a 12-month high of $120.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's 50-day moving average is $78.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $79.00 target price on the stock. Cowen downgraded Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen downgraded Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $110.91.

Global Payments 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.