Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp decreased its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,884 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Global Payments by 77.7% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 407 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE GPN traded down $3.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $123.86. The company had a trading volume of 146,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,143,000. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.12 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $129.64 and its 200-day moving average is $124.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.44%. Global Payments’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 26.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GPN. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Global Payments from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays cut their target price on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush upped their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Global Payments from $154.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.92.

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.