Welch Group LLC Buys 777 Shares of Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 15.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Global Payments by 53.4% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 546.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Global Payments by 4,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.75.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $82.89 on Monday. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $120.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.14. The company has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%.The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.01% of the stock is owned by 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.