Gradient Investments LLC Raises Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 19.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 179,401 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,039 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC owned about 0.07% of Global Payments worth $17,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Global Payments during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE GPN traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $76.55. The stock had a trading volume of 437,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,463,841. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.93 and a 1 year high of $120.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.64. The firm has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Global Payments's payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GPN. Williams Trading set a $75.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.