Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 58,524 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 58,524 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.15% of Global Payments worth $51,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 46,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,963,000 after purchasing an additional 12,273 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its stake in Global Payments by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 82,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,499,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 255,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,064,000 after purchasing an additional 15,655 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,806,770.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of GPN traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $96.22. 1,345,504 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,214,987. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $102.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.49. The company has a market capitalization of $24.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. Equities research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on GPN shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $182.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $163.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $157.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.68.

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.