Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,694 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $12,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position 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 worth $53,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One 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, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $97.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.99 and a 12 month high of $136.36. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.70.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. 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.