Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Position Decreased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 718,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 38,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Global Payments worth $80,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GPN. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $94.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $106.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.18. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.99 and a fifty-two week high of $136.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. 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.