North Star Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 282,933 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,947 shares during the quarter. Global Payments comprises about 1.4% of North Star Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Global Payments worth $31,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,068 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,963 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,228,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 6,949 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPN shares. Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Global Payments from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $86.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.43.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $74.91. The stock had a trading volume of 4,762,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,479,164. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.93 and a 52 week high of $120.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.20 billion for 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%. Global Payments's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is 16.13%.

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.