Invst LLC Takes $2.06 Million Position in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Invst LLC has acquired a new position in Global Payments Inc. valued at approximately $2.06 million, purchasing 21,005 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Global Payments, with SG Americas Securities boosting its holdings by over 75,000%.
• Global Payments has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.21.

Invst LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,005 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,057,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPN. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 75,379.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,517,141 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $148,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515,131 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at $94,107,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 77.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,001,585 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $186,107,000 after acquiring an additional 874,175 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 346.9% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 912,667 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $89,368,000 after acquiring an additional 708,451 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at $66,441,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.21.

Global Payments Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:GPN opened at $86.70 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $84.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.21. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.93 and a 52 week high of $120.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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