Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 892.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 404,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 363,581 shares during the quarter. Global Payments accounts for about 0.6% of Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $45,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.18.

Global Payments Trading Up 1.5 %

GPN opened at $105.67 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.53. The firm has a market cap of $26.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly 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). Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 13.61%. On average, equities analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.