JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 122,422 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 425,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 122,422 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.17% of Global Payments worth $47,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 17.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $270,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 46.7% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 8,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 2.7% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 104,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,734,000 after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $84.82 on Friday. 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 cap of $20.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $102.35 and its 200-day moving average is $106.79. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $84.50 and a one year high of $129.35.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. Equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.10.

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.