Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Holdings Lowered by Atomi Financial Group Inc.

Atomi Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,638,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $679,952,000 after purchasing an additional 215,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Global Payments by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $605,078,000 after acquiring an additional 31,934 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $564,437,000 after acquiring an additional 83,481 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,090,000 after purchasing an additional 490,411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $108.92 on Friday. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.40.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on GPN. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

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 purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

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.