IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds 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 first quarter worth approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 59.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in Global Payments by 154.7% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:GPN opened at $99.13 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $105.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.02. The company has a market capitalization of $25.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.65.

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.