Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Bought by Oribel Capital Management LP

Oribel Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 495.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 521,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 433,700 shares during the period. Global Payments comprises about 2.0% of Oribel Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Oribel Capital Management LP owned about 0.20% of Global Payments worth $58,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GPN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,984 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth $99,969,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 1,559.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,502,000 after purchasing an additional 515,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $53,700,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $84.82 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.79. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.50 and a 1-year high of $129.35. The stock has a market cap of $20.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.10.

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.