Clearbridge Investments LLC Acquires 258,179 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 35.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 995,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 258,179 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $111,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $98.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $103.51 and its 200 day moving average is $107.25. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.99 and a 1-year high of $133.63. 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 company has a market cap of $24.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.