Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 74.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 36,516 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $116.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $29.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.28. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GPN. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.50.

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.