Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co lessened its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 75.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,279 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $929,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659,984 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 65.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Global Payments by 1,559.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,502,000 after purchasing an additional 515,763 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 22.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,090,000 after purchasing an additional 490,411 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth about $53,700,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $94.15 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.99 and a 12-month high of $136.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $106.05 and its 200-day moving average is $108.18.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 16.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stephens lowered Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

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.