Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 1,098 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,098 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 531.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,240,000 after purchasing an additional 20,402 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at $489,000. Sona Asset Management US LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth $7,084,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $4,576,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $160.00 to $157.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Global Payments from $182.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.35.

Global Payments Stock Down 2.5 %

Global Payments stock traded down $2.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,957,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,966,164. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.38. The company has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

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 transaction, the vice president now owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Company 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.