RFG Advisory LLC Sells 662 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

RFG Advisory LLC lowered its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 662 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Red Spruce Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,452,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,124,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.4% during the first quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 18,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 5.6% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 101,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,522,000 after acquiring an additional 5,340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $95.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced 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. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $157.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $163.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Global Payments from $182.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.39.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.