Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 231.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,381 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,204 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gtcr LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth about $2,911,939,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $276,014,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 112.3% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,281,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,545,000 after buying an additional 1,206,807 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 5,710.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 941,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,857,000 after buying an additional 925,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 93.8% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,412,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,299,000 after buying an additional 683,524 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.3%

GPN opened at $87.75 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $90.85. The company has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.45, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.56.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Global Payments had a positive return on equity of 13.80% and a negative net margin of 9.16%.The firm’s revenue was up 68.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.10 earnings per share. Global Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.600-13.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 13.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently -49.02%.

Key Headlines Impacting Global Payments

Here are the key news stories impacting Global Payments this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings exceeded expectations: Global Payments reported adjusted EPS of $3.46, ahead of the roughly $3.44–$3.45 consensus and up from $3.10 a year earlier. Adjusted net revenue was approximately $3.16 billion, broadly in line with estimates, while Genius platform adoption helped support earnings growth. Global Payments Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Genius Platform Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their price targets: UBS lifted its target to $91 from $80, Goldman Sachs increased its target to $94 from $82, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $95 from $76. However, all three firms retained neutral or market-perform ratings, indicating limited conviction in substantial near-term outperformance.
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns remain supportive: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, payable September 25 to shareholders of record September 11. Global Payments also reported returning approximately $1.2 billion of capital to shareholders year to date.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue growth was boosted by the recent acquisition structure: Reported revenue rose 68.6% year over year to $3.32 billion, but normalized adjusted net revenue growth was approximately 4%, making underlying organic growth a key focus for investors. Global Payments Q2 revenue rises to $3.32 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Full-year guidance was reduced: Global Payments forecast 2026 adjusted EPS of $13.60–$13.80, slightly below the $13.84 consensus, and expects normalized constant-currency adjusted net revenue growth of about 4%–5%. Management cited the Middle East conflict’s impact on travel spending, creating concern about transaction volumes and near-term growth. Global Payments cuts annual forecasts as Middle East conflict hits travel spending

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Global Payments from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $88.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $76.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Global Payments from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.68.

About Global Payments

Global Payments Inc (NYSE: GPN) is a worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions that enables commerce for merchants, issuers and enterprises. The company develops and operates payment processing networks, point-of-sale systems and cloud-based software that facilitate electronic transactions across in-store, online and mobile channels. Its services span merchant acquiring, payment gateway services, omnichannel commerce platforms, and solutions for recurring and subscription billing.

Global Payments offers a range of products and services including integrated payment terminals and point-of-sale software, e-commerce and gateway technologies, fraud prevention and tokenization tools, and business analytics and reporting.