Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 2,266 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Schroder Investment Management Group lessened its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,266 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $3,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Global Payments by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 8.8 %

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $84.82 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.50 and a 1-year high of $129.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $102.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.10.

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.