Natixis Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 28.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 71,513 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Global Payments worth $17,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $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.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $109.63 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $101.83 and a 200-day moving average of $111.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $27.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.71.

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.