Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,673 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $11,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 177.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.2 %

GPN stock opened at $100.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Global Payments Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $140.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $108.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.78.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

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.