Amalgamated Bank Cuts Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Amalgamated Bank decreased its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,047 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,431,000. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 9,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,323,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Global Payments by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,214 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 219.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 7,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 59,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,935,000 after buying an additional 5,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 2.7 %

Global Payments stock opened at $111.92 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.83.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 13.61%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GPN shares. Stephens cut their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.50.

Global Payments Company 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.