Focused Investors LLC Makes New Investment in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Focused Investors LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 892,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $99,969,000. Global Payments comprises 3.2% of Focused Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 177.5% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Stephens lowered shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $97.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.99 and a 1-year high of $136.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $104.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. As a group, research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

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.