Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 9,035 Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,297,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,035 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.29% of Global Payments worth $318,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Global Payments by 54.5% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 154.7% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $108.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.41 and its 200-day moving average is $111.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. Global Payments’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas raised Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Global Payments from $129.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, William Blair raised Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.71.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Company 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.