Raymond James & Associates Grows Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 364,909 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,980 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.14% of Global Payments worth $46,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 77.7% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 407 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $131.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $132.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.54. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.12 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The company has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GPN. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $129.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Global Payments from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.92.

Global Payments Company Profile

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.