Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,054 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $10,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 22,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,551,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Global Payments by 770.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,572,000. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $277,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.7 %

Global Payments stock opened at $107.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. Global Payments Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GPN shares. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.71.

About Global Payments

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.