Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,593 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 684 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth about $210,000. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 12,273 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 18,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 15,655 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE GPN traded up $0.52 on Monday, reaching $101.71. The stock had a trading volume of 250,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,295,973. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.36.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.07. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPN. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Global Payments from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $172.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Global Payments from $129.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.32.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.