Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. reduced its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 41.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,160 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Global Payments by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $323,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 17.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 388.7% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 54,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,602,000 after acquiring an additional 43,500 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,009,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.10.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN stock opened at $98.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.16. The firm has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.99 and a 1 year high of $129.35.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

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.