Aberdeen Group plc Lowers Stock Holdings in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its holdings in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 4.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 179,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,292 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $15,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the second quarter worth approximately $273,844,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Global Payments by 480.7% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,074,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $86,017,000 after purchasing an additional 889,590 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Global Payments by 99.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,124,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,820,000 after buying an additional 560,936 shares during the last quarter. Natixis increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 205.6% during the second quarter. Natixis now owns 778,204 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,287,000 after acquiring an additional 523,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 13.8% in the second quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 4,316,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,524,000 after purchasing an additional 523,209 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Global Payments from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Truist Financial set a $85.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $90.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.75.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $81.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.76. Global Payments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $107.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.41.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $0.02. Global Payments had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Global Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.800-14.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David Lawrence Green sold 11,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.99, for a total transaction of $927,884.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 68,096 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,999.04. This trade represents a 14.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David M. Sheffield sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were 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 owned 14,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,397.58. The trade was a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Global Payments News

Here are the key news stories impacting Global Payments this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat on EPS and showed margin strength (Merchant Solutions); EPS was $3.18 vs. $3.16 consensus, supporting confidence in earnings power. Business Wire: Q4 and Full‑Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY‑2026 guidance to $13.80–$14.00 EPS (above Street), which signals double‑digit profit growth and drove much of the rally. Fool: Why GPN Stock Jumped
• Positive Sentiment: Large shareholder return: company unveiled a multi‑billion dollar buyback (reported as ~$2.5B by coverage), signaling confidence and reducing float. Benzinga: $2.5B Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared ($0.25 per share, record March 9), adding steady shareholder yield and signaling cash‑flow confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management framed a strategic pivot around the Worldpay platform and growth initiatives; tone was upbeat but execution risk remains as integration and growth plans proceed. TipRanks: Worldpay Growth Pivot
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish analyst/market commentaries label GPN as undervalued or offering multi‑bagger potential—useful for sentiment but dependent on sustained execution. Seeking Alpha: Undervalued Thesis
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry note: payments players face elevated tech and operating costs even as cross‑border and e‑commerce trends support long‑term growth. Zacks: Payments Industry Headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue growth was modest (≈1.4% YoY) and management flagged higher costs; investors should watch margin trends as technology and integration spending can pressure profitability. Zacks: Q4 — Costs Temper Results

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.