American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 60,394 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Global Payments worth $19,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 94.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 1.9 %

GPN opened at $97.55 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $103.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.99 and a 12 month high of $133.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on GPN shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.33.

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.