Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 6.3%, acquiring an additional 21,686 shares, resulting in a total holding of 366,389 shares, valued at approximately $35.88 million.
• Global Payments recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, set to be paid on September 26th, representing a 1.2% dividend yield for investors.
• The company's stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with the current consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target average of $112.21.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,389 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,686 shares during the quarter. Global Payments accounts for about 2.5% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. owned 0.15% of Global Payments worth $35,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 546.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter worth $37,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.4%

GPN stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,167,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,856. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.93. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.93 and a 1 year high of $120.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93.

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 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 business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Global Payments from $105.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Mizuho raised Global Payments from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.