Amalgamated Bank Decreases Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,761 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter worth about $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $110.69 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.26. The firm has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. William Blair raised shares of Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

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.