Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Purchases New Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its holdings in Global Payments by 121.0% in the 4th quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 15,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 8,606 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $955,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 21,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,381,000 after buying an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,700,000. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This 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 hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE:GPN opened at $93.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.51. 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 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $140.38.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. Equities research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup cut their price target on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens lowered 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.