Consolidated Planning Corp Takes Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Consolidated Planning Corp bought a new position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,828 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $50,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $104.12 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $111.45 and a 200 day moving average of $108.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $26.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 13.61%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on 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 decreased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.