Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB reduced its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,266 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 13.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Global Payments by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after buying an additional 785,539 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $562,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Global Payments by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,184,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $109.53 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GPN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.