68,916 Shares in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Acquired by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 68,916 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,723,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 177.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.2%

Global Payments stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.62. 504,345 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,860,746. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.93 and a 12 month high of $120.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.21. The company has a market cap of $18.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.09. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Global Payments's payout ratio is 16.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GPN. Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.43.

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.