Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $1.21 Million Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,041 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $1,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its position in Global Payments by 54.5% in the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $110.44 on Monday. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The firm has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $103.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.62.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GPN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.96.

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.