Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Purchased by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 148.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,700 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Global Payments by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after acquiring an additional 785,539 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth $562,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 106.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 50,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 26,104 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN stock opened at $94.15 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.99 and a 1 year high of $136.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $106.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.16.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on GPN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America cut their target price on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.33.

Global Payments Company 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.