XTX Topco Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 295.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,336 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter worth $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the second quarter worth $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 54.5% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its position in Global Payments by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $112.97 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $105.25 and its 200 day moving average is $110.39. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $28.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas raised Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Global Payments 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.