Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Stock Position Lifted by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 374.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 569 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $64,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments in the third quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 94.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

GPN opened at $99.75 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.11. The firm has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.99 and a fifty-two week high of $129.35.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during 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, equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPN has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.10.

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.