BIP Alliance LLC Invests $3.31 Million in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

BIP Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 29,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,306,000. Global Payments accounts for approximately 1.4% of BIP Alliance LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,984 shares in the last quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $147,695,000. Focused Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $99,969,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,656,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,664,000 after purchasing an additional 479,791 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cowen lowered Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Global Payments from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.43.

Global Payments Stock Performance

GPN opened at $75.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.93 and a 12-month high of $120.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.06 and a 200-day moving average of $101.04. The stock has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.09. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.13%.

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.