Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 279.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,993 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $3,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter worth about $119,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,124,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 21,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 6,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $102.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $105.89 and its 200 day moving average is $105.97. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on GPN. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.82.

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.