Bessemer Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GPN. DRW Securities LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 616.3% during the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 34,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,857,000 after buying an additional 29,615 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,700,000. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,032,000. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 96.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 11,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 5,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 746.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 276,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,933,000 after purchasing an additional 243,442 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN stock opened at $84.99 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $98.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.71. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.83 and a 12-month high of $127.66. The company has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Evercore ISI started coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.52.

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.