Global Payments Inc. $GPN Shares Acquired by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 260.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,278 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $2,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 242.2% during the third quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 103.7% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $72.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.34. Global Payments Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.93 and a twelve month high of $112.50.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The business services provider reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.03. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 19.68%.The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David M. Sheffield sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total value of $164,122.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,397.58. This represents a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 10,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $81.42 per share, with a total value of $846,116.64. Following the purchase, the director owned 59,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,828,450.26. The trade was a 21.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 14,723 shares of company stock worth $1,186,772 and sold 18,080 shares worth $1,439,350. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on GPN shares. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $90.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.82.

Global Payments Company Profile

Global Payments Inc (NYSE: GPN) is a worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions that enables commerce for merchants, issuers and enterprises. The company develops and operates payment processing networks, point-of-sale systems and cloud-based software that facilitate electronic transactions across in-store, online and mobile channels. Its services span merchant acquiring, payment gateway services, omnichannel commerce platforms, and solutions for recurring and subscription billing.

Global Payments offers a range of products and services including integrated payment terminals and point-of-sale software, e-commerce and gateway technologies, fraud prevention and tokenization tools, and business analytics and reporting.