Swedbank AB Acquires 1,496 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,496 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 26.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,370,000 after buying an additional 4,874 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Global Payments by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,541,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $157,885,000 after buying an additional 44,296 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in Global Payments in the third quarter worth approximately $513,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Global Payments by 65.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Global Payments by 292.2% in the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 10,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 7,693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $119.36 on Thursday. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. 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 firm has a market cap of $30.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $106.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.67.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GPN. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.57.

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.