Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 925.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 417,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 377,087 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc. owned 0.16% of Global Payments worth $42,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Global Payments by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after acquiring an additional 785,539 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth $562,000. Poplar Forest Capital LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth $13,184,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Global Payments by 1,559.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,502,000 after purchasing an additional 515,763 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $108.92 on Monday. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $113.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.58. The company has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GPN. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.71.

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.