Mather Group LLC. Makes New Investment in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 935 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,087,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $646,151,000 after buying an additional 132,635 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,402,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $392,657,000 after acquiring an additional 89,057 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 338.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,288,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537,941 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,980,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,777,000 after purchasing an additional 76,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at $365,933,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total value of $367,422.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,806,770.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:GPN opened at $95.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The company has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $107.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.39.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.07. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.08 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPN. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $163.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Global Payments from $158.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $182.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $157.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.39.

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.