Groupama Asset Managment Sells 1,356 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,356 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GPN shares. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.10.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.3 %

Global Payments stock opened at $99.75 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.99 and a twelve month high of $129.35. The company has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.