Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 925.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 377,087 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $42,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 59.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Global Payments by 134.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $108.92 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Stephens cut shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

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.