North Growth Management Ltd. Acquires 11,000 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

North Growth Management Ltd. increased its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,000 shares during the quarter. Global Payments comprises approximately 2.4% of North Growth Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. North Growth Management Ltd.'s holdings in Global Payments were worth $11,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE GPN traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.69. 3,271,617 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,487,865. The company's fifty day moving average is $77.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $120.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.09. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 15.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is 16.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GPN shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Cowen cut shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen lowered shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.91.

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.