Thompson Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.5 %

GPN stock opened at $109.53 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.