State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,650 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $10,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GPN. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $107.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $140.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.70.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 13.61%. On average, analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

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.