AQR Arbitrage LLC Increases Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

AQR Arbitrage LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,763 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,641 shares during the quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% in 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.0 %

GPN stock traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,877,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,399,943. The business has a 50-day moving average of $88.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.93 and a 52-week high of $120.00.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Global Payments from $105.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.86.

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.