Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC has reduced its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 44.2%, selling 445,559 shares during the first quarter, and now holds 0.23% of the company worth approximately $55 million.
• Global Payments announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.2%, aimed to be paid out on September 26th.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on Global Payments, with an average target price of $112.21, while 11 analysts rated it as a Buy and 18 as Hold.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 44.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 563,622 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 445,559 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.23% of Global Payments worth $55,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,708,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in Global Payments during the first quarter valued at $685,000. Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 114.4% in the 1st quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 18,305 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 9,768 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 282,933 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,705,000 after purchasing an additional 8,947 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.4%

GPN stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.60. 247,506 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,779,476. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.93 and a 52-week high of $120.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.61.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.21.

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.