Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $134.33.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GPN shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens lowered shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Creative Planning grew its stake in Global Payments by 8.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,986 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Global Payments by 9.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Global Payments by 40.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Global Payments by 7,624.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 102,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,458,000 after buying an additional 100,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $103.19 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.00. Global Payments has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $140.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.18%.

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.