Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Purchased by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.7 %

GPN opened at $95.82 on Tuesday. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.99 and a 52 week high of $136.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

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.