National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 708,451 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI significantly increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 346.9% in Q1, now owning 912,667 shares worth approximately $89.4 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Global Payments, with a target price of $112.21 set by analysts, up from previous estimates.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a current annualized yield of 1.2%.

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 346.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 912,667 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 708,451 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.37% of Global Payments worth $89,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 88.6% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 892,958 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $100,065,000 after purchasing an additional 419,443 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,708,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4,866.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $685,000. Finally, Argyle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 114.4% during the 1st quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 18,305 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 9,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $82.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,695,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,825,770. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.30. The company has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.93 and a twelve month high of $120.00.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.25 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 17.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upgraded Global Payments from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $86.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Global Payments from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $84.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.