Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $33.01 Million Stock Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 294,593 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,544 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $33,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 59.6% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 177.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $103.19 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $140.38.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. As a group, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

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.