Westpac Banking Corp Sells 56,212 Shares of Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp sharply reduced its stake in Global Payments, selling 56,212 shares in the first quarter and leaving it with just 970 shares worth about $65,000.
• Global Payments beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $2.96 versus the $2.82 consensus and revenue of $2.86 billion, up 63.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautious overall, with the stock carrying a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.46 despite some firms maintaining Buy or Equal Weight ratings.

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 98.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 970 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 56,212 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Global Payments were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $276,014,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 112.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,281,476 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $189,545,000 after buying an additional 1,206,807 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 5,710.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 941,299 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $72,857,000 after buying an additional 925,099 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Global Payments by 93.8% in the 4th quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,412,128 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $109,299,000 after buying an additional 683,524 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Global Payments by 126.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,019,788 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $84,724,000 after buying an additional 570,413 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $80.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a PE ratio of -39.69, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.16 and a 1-year high of $90.64. The business's 50 day moving average is $72.29 and its 200-day moving average is $72.00.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Global Payments had a positive return on equity of 13.11% and a negative net margin of 7.99%.Global Payments's revenue was up 63.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Global Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.800-14.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 13.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Global Payments's payout ratio is -49.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Global Payments in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $88.00 to $76.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $90.00 to $76.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.46.

About Global Payments

Global Payments Inc NYSE: GPN is a worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions that enables commerce for merchants, issuers and enterprises. The company develops and operates payment processing networks, point-of-sale systems and cloud-based software that facilitate electronic transactions across in-store, online and mobile channels. Its services span merchant acquiring, payment gateway services, omnichannel commerce platforms, and solutions for recurring and subscription billing.

Global Payments offers a range of products and services including integrated payment terminals and point-of-sale software, e-commerce and gateway technologies, fraud prevention and tokenization tools, and business analytics and reporting.

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