AM Investment Strategies LLC Sells 2,635 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

AM Investment Strategies LLC lessened its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 19.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,635 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.7 %

GPN traded up $0.73 on Friday, hitting $104.44. The company had a trading volume of 2,469,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,273,868. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,087.63. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

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.