Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Bought by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI increased its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 86,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,578 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $9,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Global Payments by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,516,000 after buying an additional 349,457 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 65.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $562,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 50,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,682,000 after buying an additional 26,104 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $100.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $107.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $140.38.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. On average, analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPN has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.33.

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.