Poplar Forest Capital LLC Purchases 29,370 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,370 shares during the quarter. Global Payments comprises 3.3% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Poplar Forest Capital LLC owned 0.06% of Global Payments worth $17,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $105.51 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $109.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.95. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $140.38. The company has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on GPN shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price 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, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.