Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Has $4.95 Million Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,413 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Global Payments by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,087,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $646,151,000 after acquiring an additional 132,635 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $365,933,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,192,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,413,000 after buying an additional 477,390 shares during the period. Glenview Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 1,948,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $247,412,000 after buying an additional 100,993 shares during the period. Finally, Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,764,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $224,044,000 after buying an additional 14,235 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $101.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 556,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,297,960. The company has a market cap of $25.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.36. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. On average, equities analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total value of $367,422.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,770.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna cut 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.32.

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.