Leeward Investments LLC MA Reduces Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Leeward Investments LLC MA decreased its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 108,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,745 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $12,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $103.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.94 and a 200-day moving average of $108.93. The firm has a market cap of $25.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $140.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

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.