Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,246 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,670 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,700,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Global Payments by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,253 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Global Payments by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 73,901 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,281,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $5,942,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Global Payments by 3,308.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,852 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.
Shares of GPN stock traded down $3.71 on Monday, reaching $97.06. 2,728,594 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,080,673. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $140.38. The stock has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.72.
Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Global Payments's payout ratio is presently 16.18%.
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.33.
View Our Latest Report on GPN
In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.
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.
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