First National Trust Co Cuts Holdings in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

First National Trust Co lowered its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPN. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Global Payments by 5.5% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 5.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WESCAP Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. WESCAP Management Group Inc. now owns 7,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GPN. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Global Payments from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.37.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $79.15 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.93 and a 52 week high of $120.00.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 12.47%. Global Payments’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Global Payments 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.