Weitz Investment Management Inc. Has $45.69 Million Holdings in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Weitz Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 550,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Global Payments makes up approximately 2.5% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Global Payments were worth $45,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. SouthState Bank Corp acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $78.37 on Wednesday. Global Payments Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.93 and a 12-month high of $106.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.76.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $0.02. Global Payments had a net margin of 16.92% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. Global Payments’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. Equities analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 17.27%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, EVP David M. Sheffield sold 2,016 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,397.58. The trade was a 12.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 10,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $81.42 per share, with a total value of $846,116.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 59,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,828,450.26. The trade was a 21.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $90.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Truist Financial set a $85.00 target price on Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Global Payments from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.52.

About Global Payments

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.