Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Given Overweight Rating at Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $130.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

GPN has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Global Payments to a strong sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Global Payments from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $142.59.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $111.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $104.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.37. The firm has a market cap of $28.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Global Payments has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Research analysts expect that Global Payments will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its position in Global Payments by 54.5% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 154.7% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Company 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.