Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 474,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75,698 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $53,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Global Payments by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 114,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,879,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 25,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,819,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC lifted its stake in Global Payments by 616.3% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 34,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,857,000 after acquiring an additional 29,615 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,700,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,032,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Trading Down 7.9 %

NYSE:GPN opened at $83.09 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.74. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.83 and a 12-month high of $127.66. The firm has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Stephens lowered 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 report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday. They set an “in-line” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.52.

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.