Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Montag A & Associates Inc.

Montag A & Associates Inc. lowered its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 40.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,890 shares during the quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,087,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $646,151,000 after buying an additional 132,635 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $365,933,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,192,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,413,000 after acquiring an additional 477,390 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Global Payments by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 1,948,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $247,412,000 after purchasing an additional 100,993 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN traded up $2.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $99.46. 754,396 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,319,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $100.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total value of $367,422.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPN. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Global Payments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $129.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $182.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $172.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.32.

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.