Red Spruce Capital LLC Buys 350 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPN. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Global Payments by 770.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $4,572,000. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of GPN stock opened at $108.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $27.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.30.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.