Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Purchased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 89,788 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,526 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Global Payments were worth $10,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 374.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 569 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GPN. TD Cowen cut shares of Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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 for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.43.

Global Payments Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE GPN traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.69. 2,300,362 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,465,187. The company has a market capitalization of $19.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.58.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Global Payments's payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

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.