Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 27,252 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 255.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,909 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,252 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens cut shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $97.03 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.99 and a fifty-two week high of $136.36. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.68.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 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 analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.18%.

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.