Schroder Investment Management Group Reduces Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Schroder Investment Management Group reduced its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,266 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $3,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $929,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659,984 shares during the period. Focused Investors LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $99,969,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Global Payments by 1,559.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,502,000 after acquiring an additional 515,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $53,700,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GPN shares. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.10.

Global Payments Stock Down 8.8 %

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $84.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.79. 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 52-week low of $84.50 and a 52-week high of $129.35.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. Equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 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.