Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Stock Position Reduced by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV decreased its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 344,820 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $6,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GPN. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 194.2% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,423,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $621,149,000 after acquiring an additional 4,240,388 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 188.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,857,000 after purchasing an additional 755,898 shares during the period. Natixis lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 830.2% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 589,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,795,000 after purchasing an additional 526,143 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 316.7% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 609,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,981,000 after purchasing an additional 463,568 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Global Payments by 171.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 561,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,279,000 after buying an additional 354,648 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GPN shares. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. Stephens cut their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $116.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.28.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

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.