Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 3,803 Shares of Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management reduced its stake in Global Payments by 3.7%, selling 3,803 shares and now holding 99,812 shares valued at approximately $7.99 million.
• Analysts have variously rated Global Payments, with nine analysts giving it a "Buy" rating and a consensus price target of $110.70, indicating potential upward movement in stock value.
• The company announced a $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, reflecting a 1.2% yield, with a payout ratio of 17.48% and an ex-dividend date set for September 12th.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,812 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,803 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $7,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $725,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,550,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,006,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $863,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 10,382 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $86.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,483,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,746,698. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.93 and a 1-year high of $120.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $84.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.16. The stock has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 is currently 17.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

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.