Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Bought by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,362 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,643 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC owned 0.06% of Global Payments worth $18,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPN. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Global Payments by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 407 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GPN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.92.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.66. 2,350,090 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,550,695. The company has a market cap of $34.10 billion, a PE ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.12 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $133.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 10.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Global Payments's payout ratio is presently 26.46%.

Global Payments 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.