Sage Capital Advisors llc Grows Position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)

Sage Capital Advisors llc raised its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $3,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 45.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after buying an additional 4,838 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 532.3% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 10,773 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Global Payments by 31.0% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its position in Global Payments by 89.5% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 5,566 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 2,629 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Global Payments by 13.5% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.82.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock traded down $5.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $105.62. 1,123,762 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,085,814. Global Payments Inc. has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.57.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.