Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 250 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $678,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,183,000 after purchasing an additional 3,349 shares during the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $106.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.22 and a 200-day moving average of $106.88. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GPN shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.71.

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.