Blue Trust Inc. Buys 3,495 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 50.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,495 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $365,933,000. Kodai Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $69,029,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $68,677,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,192,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,413,000 after acquiring an additional 477,390 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 2,086.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 342,503 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,498,000 after acquiring an additional 326,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total value of $367,422.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $96.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,345,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,987. The business’s fifty day moving average is $102.20 and its 200-day moving average is $120.49. 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 firm has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. On average, research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Global Payments from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their target price on Global Payments from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Global Payments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.68.

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.