Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,636,196 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Global Payments Inc. by 6.5%, owning approximately 9.50% of the company with a value of $2.29 billion at the end of the recent quarter.
• Despite the decrease in Vanguard's stake, several institutional investors have increased their positions in Global Payments, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 89.76%.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $3.10, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which reflects a dividend yield of 1.2%.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,358,911 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,636,196 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.50% of Global Payments worth $2,287,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in Global Payments by 88.6% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 892,958 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $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 $1,708,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter worth $685,000. Finally, Argyle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 114.4% during the first 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.8%

Global Payments stock traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.29. 2,695,182 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,825,770. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.30. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.93 and a 1-year high of $120.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%. The company's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GPN. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Global Payments from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.21.

About Global Payments

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.