Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Stock Holdings Cut by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,251 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $365,933,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 338.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,288,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537,941 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 119.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,085,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $125,287,000 after acquiring an additional 590,000 shares during the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $69,029,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $68,677,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,806,770.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $92.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $108.99 and its 200-day moving average is $122.75. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. Equities research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on Global Payments from $129.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Global Payments from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Global Payments from $160.00 to $157.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Global Payments from $163.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their target price on Global Payments from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.36.

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.