Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Acquired by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 79,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,393 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $8,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in Global Payments by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 101,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 48,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 101.1% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 50,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,676,000 after purchasing an additional 25,461 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Global Payments by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,637,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $183,514,000 after buying an additional 9,984 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Trading Up 1.6 %

GPN stock opened at $103.19 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $109.18 and its 200 day moving average is $108.91. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $140.38. The stock has a market cap of $25.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. 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 firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.