Synovus Financial Corp Sells 51,165 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Synovus Financial Corp lowered its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,517,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 51,165 shares during the period. Global Payments comprises 10.7% of Synovus Financial Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Synovus Financial Corp owned about 2.95% of Global Payments worth $842,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 25.0% in 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 during the fourth quarter worth about $99,969,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Global Payments by 1,559.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 515,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,700,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE GPN opened at $84.99 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.83 and a 52 week high of $127.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $98.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. As a group, research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPN. Bank of America lowered their target price on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “in-line” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.52.

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.