Lyrical Asset Management LP Sells 16,078 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Key Points

• Lyrical Asset Management LP sold 16,078 shares of Global Payments Inc., reducing its holdings by 0.9%, leaving it with approximately 1.8 million shares valued at $178 million.
• Global Payments reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.10, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.04, while revenue remained stable at $2.36 billion compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend, with a yield of 1.2%, scheduled for payment to shareholders on September 26th.

Lyrical Asset Management LP reduced its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,817,968 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 16,078 shares during the period. Global Payments accounts for approximately 2.7% of Lyrical Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Lyrical Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.75% of Global Payments worth $178,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at $649,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 366,389 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,877,000 after buying an additional 21,686 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,750 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 397,851 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,958,000 after buying an additional 18,334 shares during the period. Finally, WESCAP Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. WESCAP Management Group Inc. now owns 7,102 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.83. 2,167,859 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,658,856. The company has a market capitalization of $21.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.93 and a 1-year high of $120.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $80.67 and a 200 day moving average of $86.77.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.