Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by North Growth Management Ltd.

North Growth Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 105,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Global Payments accounts for about 2.2% of North Growth Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. North Growth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $11,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 59.6% during 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 stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $50,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens downgraded Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Global Payments Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of GPN opened at $109.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The stock has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.31.

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.