Beck Bode LLC Makes New Investment in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Beck Bode LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,988 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,522,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 0.9% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 114,514 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,214,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Global Payments by 3.3% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 34,832 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter worth $206,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth $816,000. Finally, Edmp Inc. increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 120.4% during the third quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 4,896 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 2,675 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Trading Down 1.5 %

GPN traded down $1.91 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $122.77. 2,616,374 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,166,954. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $95.12 and a one year high of $141.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $128.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.93.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Global Payments's payout ratio is presently 26.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPN shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $151.92.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GPN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.