Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Acquired by Berkeley Capital Partners LLC

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GPN. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 5.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 36,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,732,000 after buying an additional 1,838 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 11.4% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 75,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,765,000 after buying an additional 7,753 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.2% in the third 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 in the third quarter valued at about $681,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 1.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 44,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,569,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of GPN stock opened at $98.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.88. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.99 and a fifty-two week high of $136.36.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced 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). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

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.