Swiss National Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 952,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 120,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.37% of Global Payments worth $93,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the second quarter worth $1,528,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 75,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 209,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,093,000 after purchasing an additional 18,220 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,938 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter worth approximately $310,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $111.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.42. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.27 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.28% and a net margin of 9.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 29.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In related news, insider David Lawrence Green sold 17,920 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.53, for a total transaction of $2,016,537.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,711,059.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Joshua J. Whipple sold 37,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.28, for a total value of $4,721,578.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,062,180.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David Lawrence Green sold 17,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.53, for a total transaction of $2,016,537.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,711,059.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPN has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 9th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Global Payments from $123.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Global Payments from $128.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Global Payments from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.85.

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 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.