Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Acquired by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 177.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Global Payments by 374.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 569 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 17.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $69.50 on Monday. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.48 and a 1-year high of $127.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released 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). The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. Sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday. Williams Trading set a $75.00 price target on Global Payments in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.