Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,225 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $6,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought 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. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $103.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $140.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is 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.