Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 5,331 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,331 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 94.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Global Payments by 177.5% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on GPN shares. Stephens lowered Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $94.15 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.99 and a 52 week high of $136.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $106.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.18. The company has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

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.