GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $1.72 Million in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 12,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Global Payments by 54.5% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.3 %

Global Payments stock traded down $1.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.50. The stock had a trading volume of 508,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,840. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $101.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $24.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. On average, analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total value of $367,422.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GPN. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.32.

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.