Thompson Investment Management Inc. Acquires 303 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 6.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 7.9% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Rock Point Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 0.3% during the first quarter. Rock Point Advisors LLC now owns 29,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,084,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Global Payments by 4.7% during the first quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 2,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Global Payments by 3.9% during the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GPN. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a report on Friday, September 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Joshua J. Whipple sold 37,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.28, for a total value of $4,721,578.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,062,180.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.47, for a total transaction of $240,851.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,992,126.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joshua J. Whipple sold 37,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.28, for a total transaction of $4,721,578.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,062,180.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN stock traded down $1.34 on Friday, reaching $124.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,608,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,031,512. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.33 billion, a PE ratio of 41.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $92.27 and a one year high of $131.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $119.92 and its 200 day moving average is $108.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.19. Global Payments had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 9.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

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 three segments: Merchant Solutions, Issuer Solutions, and Consumer 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.