Front Street Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Front Street Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 891 shares during the period. Global Payments accounts for 1.3% of Front Street Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Front Street Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $7,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Global Payments by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,995,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,800,952,000 after acquiring an additional 179,195 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $929,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,230,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $696,362,000 after buying an additional 301,877 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $564,437,000 after buying an additional 83,481 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $345,823,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 17.4 %

GPN opened at $69.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $96.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.48 and a 12 month high of $127.66. The company has a market cap of $17.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens downgraded Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.73.

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.