Archford Capital Strategies LLC Reduces Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Archford Capital Strategies LLC lessened its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Global Payments by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Global Payments by 65.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after acquiring an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Global Payments in the third quarter worth approximately $562,000. Poplar Forest Capital LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth $13,184,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 1,559.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,502,000 after purchasing an additional 515,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $108.92 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. 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 $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $113.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.50.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Stephens lowered Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer started coverage on Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.71.

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.