Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 2,844 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $4,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 295.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Global Payments by 7.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 96.9% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 25,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,580,000 after buying an additional 12,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth about $562,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Stock Performance

GPN opened at $93.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.40. Global Payments Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.99 and a 1 year high of $140.38. The company has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GPN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Barclays decreased their price target on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens cut shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.