Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Global Payments by 54.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 154.7% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $110.44 on Monday. 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 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $103.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.84%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. William Blair raised shares of Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens lowered their price target on Global Payments from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Global Payments from $157.00 to $147.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.96.

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.