Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 27.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $825,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 65.0% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,054 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 56.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 18,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,802,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 18.3% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 2.7% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 51,817 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,011,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair downgraded Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.71.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of GPN opened at $108.60 on Wednesday. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77. The company has a market capitalization of $27.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.30.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

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.