Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 679 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 679 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,087,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $646,151,000 after acquiring an additional 132,635 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Global Payments by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,402,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,657,000 after purchasing an additional 89,057 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Global Payments by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,980,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,777,000 after buying an additional 76,606 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,933,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,192,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,413,000 after buying an additional 477,390 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $158.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Global Payments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $129.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.68.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE GPN opened at $96.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.07. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,806,770.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.