Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in Global Payments by 3.4% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,638,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $679,952,000 after purchasing an additional 215,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $605,078,000 after buying an additional 31,934 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $564,437,000 after buying an additional 83,481 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Global Payments by 13.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 349,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,090,000 after acquiring an additional 490,411 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE GPN opened at $103.48 on Wednesday. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $140.38. The company has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $109.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.01.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought 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 owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

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.