Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 945,297 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP drastically reduced its ownership in Global Payments Inc. by 95.6%, selling 945,297 shares, leaving it with 43,566 shares worth approximately $4.27 million.
• In the same period, various institutional investors made notable adjustments to their positions, including Larsen Financial Group LLC, which increased its position by 546.6%.
• Global Payments reported earnings per share of $2.82 for the most recent quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, while its revenue slightly declined by 0.3% year-over-year.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP cut its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 95.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,566 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 945,297 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 4.5% during the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 7,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Malaga Cove Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 85.0% in the first quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 6,933 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at $353,000. Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in Global Payments by 24.0% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 5,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth about $448,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.35. 156,254 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,802,139. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.93 and a 1-year high of $120.00. The stock has a market cap of $20.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's fifty day moving average is $79.69 and its 200 day moving average is $87.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%. Global Payments's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Global Payments's payout ratio is presently 16.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPN has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upgraded Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho raised Global Payments from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.21.

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.