ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $680,000 Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 5.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 65.0% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 56.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 52.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 8,828 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 18,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.6 %

GPN stock opened at $108.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $114.01 and its 200-day moving average is $107.22.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GPN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BTIG Research cut Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.