UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Sells 10,972 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd decreased its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,972 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 23,421 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,625,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Global Payments by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 397,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,786,000 after purchasing an additional 31,124 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in Global Payments by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 176,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,811,000 after purchasing an additional 59,300 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 124,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 2,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $97.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.34. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.99 and a 12 month high of $133.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GPN. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.33.

Global Payments Profile

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.