Sage Capital Advisors llc Buys 146 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 10.3% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 7.7% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Global Payments by 3.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $176,366,000 after buying an additional 48,605 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Global Payments by 259.7% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 17,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 12,479 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth $766,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPN. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Monday, July 24th. B. Riley began coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Friday, June 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $179.00 price objective for the company. Credit Suisse Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $144.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.47, for a total transaction of $240,851.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,992,126.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Joshua J. Whipple sold 37,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.28, for a total value of $4,721,578.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,062,180.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.47, for a total value of $240,851.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,045 shares in the company, valued at $2,992,126.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE GPN traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $122.44. The stock had a trading volume of 212,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,759. Global Payments Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.27 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $120.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.01. The firm has a market cap of $31.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.19. Global Payments had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 9.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

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 three segments: Merchant Solutions, Issuer Solutions, and Consumer 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.