Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Stock Position Lowered by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,315,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 354,520 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.52% of Global Payments worth $147,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,969,000 after buying an additional 1,659,984 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,969,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1,559.6% in 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 buying an additional 515,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,090,000 after acquiring an additional 490,411 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $97.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.99 and a 1 year high of $133.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.35.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens lowered Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.33.

About Global Payments

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.