Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC reduced its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,415 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $11,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in Global Payments by 148.5% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 49,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,508,000 after acquiring an additional 29,700 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Global Payments by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 25,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,833,000 after acquiring an additional 5,331 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on GPN. Stephens downgraded Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $93.01 on Thursday. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.99 and a 12 month high of $140.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $106.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.40.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued 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 return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Company 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.