Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Stock Position Lifted by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,349 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $6,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $337,000. BOKF NA raised its holdings in Global Payments by 690.8% during the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 1,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Global Payments by 255.6% in the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 5,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,854 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the 2nd quarter valued at $431,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 3,309 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN opened at $108.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. 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 $27.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen decreased 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 cut shares of Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

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.