Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Stock Position Lowered by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 274,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,759 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Global Payments worth $36,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Global Payments by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in Global Payments by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 46,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,963,000 after buying an additional 12,273 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in Global Payments by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 82,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,499,000 after buying an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Global Payments by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 255,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,064,000 after buying an additional 15,655 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $182.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.32.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $101.19. 1,778,747 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,989,694. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

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.