Global Payments Inc. $GPN Shares Sold by Orbis Allan Gray Ltd

Key Points

• Orbis Allan Gray Ltd reduced its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 43.6%, selling over 2.4 million shares, leaving it with approximately 1.8% of the company's total equity.
• Global Payments has received upgrades from several analysts, with JPMorgan and UBS raising their target prices significantly during recent reports, although overall sentiment remains a mixed "Hold" from multiple analysts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which will be paid to shareholders on September 26th, contributing to an annualized yield of 1.1%.

Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lessened its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 43.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,222,435 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,488,612 shares during the quarter. Global Payments comprises 1.8% of Orbis Allan Gray Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd owned 1.32% of Global Payments worth $315,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 546.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 4,866.7% in 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. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 9,580.0% in the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 484 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on GPN shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Global Payments from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were 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 owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of GPN stock traded down $1.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $87.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,477,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,772,327. The company's fifty day moving average is $82.98 and its 200 day moving average is $84.94. 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 fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $120.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

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.