Traynor Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,451 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Global Payments by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair cut Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BTIG Research downgraded Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.71.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $108.52 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $113.72 and a 200-day moving average of $107.39. The company has a market cap of $27.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Global Payments Company 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.