Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 5,227 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,894 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,227 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in Global Payments by 154.7% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 34,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 7,369 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Stephens lowered their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Global Payments from $182.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $109.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $98.46 and its 200 day moving average is $113.99. 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 fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

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.