Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP trimmed its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 78.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 186,467 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in Global Payments by 4.1% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Global Payments by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Down 8.8 %

NYSE GPN opened at $84.82 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $20.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.50 and a 52 week high of $129.35.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.10.

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.