Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Position Lessened by North Growth Management Ltd.

North Growth Management Ltd. cut its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 105,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Global Payments accounts for 2.2% of North Growth Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. North Growth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $11,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GPN. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down previously 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 decreased their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.71.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $109.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $112.01 and its 200-day moving average is $108.31. The firm has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments 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.