Xponance Inc. Raises Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 5.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 36,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,732,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 75,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,765,000 after buying an additional 7,753 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Global Payments by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 31,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at about $681,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 1.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 44,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,569,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GPN. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $97.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.81. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.99 and a 52-week high of $136.36.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

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.