Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 56.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,590 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 84,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,660,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter worth $33,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Global Payments in the third quarter worth $246,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Global Payments by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 299,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,638,000 after purchasing an additional 8,078 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.50.

Global Payments Stock Up 4.1 %

GPN stock opened at $115.44 on Tuesday. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77. The stock has a market cap of $29.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $104.60 and its 200 day moving average is $103.46.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 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 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

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.