Fox Run Management L.L.C. Takes Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 546.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at $37,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

GPN opened at $86.83 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.93 and a 52-week high of $120.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $21.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 17.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Cowen lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $105.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Global Payments from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.21.

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.