Global Payments Inc. $GPN Shares Purchased by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 227,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,492 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Global Payments worth $18,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 53.4% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 546.6% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 4,866.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GPN. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.75.

Global Payments Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $85.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.92. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.93 and a 12-month high of $120.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 17.48%.

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.