Global Payments Inc. $GPN Shares Purchased by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 120.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,761 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $7,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter worth $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 546.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of GPN stock opened at $85.81 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.40. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $120.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%.The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. TD Cowen raised Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho raised Global Payments from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.