North Star Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 282,933 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,947 shares during the quarter. Global Payments accounts for about 1.4% of North Star Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Global Payments worth $31,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 177.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 300 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 traded up $1.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $75.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,088,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,470,029. 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 market capitalization of $18.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.09. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Global Payments's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Global Payments's payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cowen cut shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp increased their target price on Global Payments from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Global Payments from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.43.

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.