Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 757,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.30% of Global Payments worth $77,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 194.2% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,423,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $621,149,000 after buying an additional 4,240,388 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 188.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,857,000 after acquiring an additional 755,898 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 316.7% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 609,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,981,000 after acquiring an additional 463,568 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 171.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 561,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,279,000 after purchasing an additional 354,648 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Global Payments in the second quarter worth about $31,439,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $114.72 on Wednesday. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.34.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on GPN. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.50.

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 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.