Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Stock Rating Lowered by Stephens

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) was downgraded by analysts at Stephens from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $120.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $125.00. Stephens’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.33% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.71.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $105.89 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.71. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 45.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew 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 valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 89.5% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 5,566 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,629 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 13.5% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the second quarter valued at approximately $337,000. 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.