Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Given New $135.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price target reduced by Citigroup from $138.00 to $135.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on GPN. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.3 %

GPN opened at $107.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $110.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.70. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $140.38.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.94%. On average, research analysts expect that Global Payments will post 11 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This 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 this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.