C WorldWide Group Holding A S Reduces Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

C WorldWide Group Holding A S decreased its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 75.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,909 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 305,532 shares during the quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $10,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 94.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 177.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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 raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Trading Down 2.3 %

GPN stock opened at $103.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $140.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.00.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Global Payments 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.