HB Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

HB Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 199 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $3,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $2,154,000. Retireful LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 231.0% in the 4th quarter. Retireful LLC now owns 19,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 13,760 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1,559.6% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $108.41 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.08.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GPN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens lowered shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

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.