Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital trimmed its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,580 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,393 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $929,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,984 shares during the last quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $147,695,000. Focused Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $99,969,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 40.8% during 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 during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock traded down $1.42 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $78.21. 2,702,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,479,158. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.93 and a 12-month high of $120.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.35. The company has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The business's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Global Payments's payout ratio is presently 16.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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. Barclays cut 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. Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $79.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.91.

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.