Empowered Funds LLC Sells 15,244 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Empowered Funds LLC cut its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,244 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $166,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Global Payments by 62.5% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 285,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,221,000 after purchasing an additional 109,999 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Global Payments during the first quarter valued at $1,240,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 580,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,654,000 after buying an additional 121,465 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE GPN opened at $117.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.50. The firm has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.57.

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.