Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 4.7%, acquiring an additional 52,039 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1,169,708 shares valued at $114.5 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have recently adjusted their holdings in Global Payments, with a combined 89.76% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with 18 hold ratings, 12 buy ratings, and projected target prices ranging from $77 to $112.21.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,169,708 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,039 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.48% of Global Payments worth $114,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 5.1% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 78,402 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,817 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.5% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 36,856 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,609,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 2.2% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 37,591 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 126.0% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,046 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,928 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $94,107,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $86.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,167,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,856. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.93 and a 12-month high of $120.00. The company has a market cap of $21.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share 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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 17.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $105.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One 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.com, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.