Welch Group LLC Sells 231 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Welch Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 231 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Global Payments by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Global Payments by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after acquiring an additional 785,539 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $562,000. Poplar Forest Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $13,184,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Global Payments by 1,559.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $110.62 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.07. The company has a market cap of $28.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.71.

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.