Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 6.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 37,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,413 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $365,933,000. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,029,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,677,000. Natixis lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 830.2% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 589,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,795,000 after acquiring an additional 526,143 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 267.0% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 677,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,602,000 after buying an additional 493,164 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN traded up $0.53 during trading on Monday, reaching $101.72. 556,526 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,297,960. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $98.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.07. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 0.98%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,770.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Global Payments from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on Global Payments from $129.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com cut Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Global Payments from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.32.

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.