Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 765 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,421 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 765 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Global Payments by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $97.55 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $90.99 and a 52 week high of $133.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $103.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.35.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.18%.

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.