Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Bought by North Star Asset Management Inc.

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of GPN traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $75.26. The company had a trading volume of 553,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,472,925. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.93 and a 1-year high of $120.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Global Payments's payout ratio is presently 16.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Cowen cut Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.43.

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.