North Star Asset Management Inc. Has $31.71 Million Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 282,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,947 shares during the quarter. Global Payments makes up about 1.4% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $31,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Global Payments by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 6,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $74.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Global Payments from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.43.

About Global Payments

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.