Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,196,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,065 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.47% of Global Payments worth $115,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,330 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 34,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 7,369 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $587,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. BNP Paribas upgraded Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $111.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $28.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.37. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

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.