Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Acquired by Rock Point Advisors LLC

Rock Point Advisors LLC increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 96.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,117 shares during the period. Global Payments makes up about 1.7% of Rock Point Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Rock Point Advisors LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $5,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 139.3% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in Global Payments by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 10,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:GPN opened at $110.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.76. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77. The firm has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Global Payments’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Stephens cut their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Global Payments

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.