LSV Asset Management Reduces Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

LSV Asset Management lowered its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 305,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 39,200 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $34,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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. Focused Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $99,969,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1,559.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,502,000 after buying an additional 515,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,700,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $84.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.83 and a 52-week high of $127.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.66.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Evercore ISI began coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “in-line” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stephens lowered Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.