Focused Investors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Focused Investors LLC raised its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,167,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 295,600 shares during the period. Global Payments accounts for 3.1% of Focused Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $93,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPN. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 4,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $685,000. Argyle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 114.4% during the first quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 18,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 9,768 shares in the last quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 85.0% in the first quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 1,828.3% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 45,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,498,000 after acquiring an additional 43,550 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

GPN opened at $88.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.53. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $120.00.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.75.

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.