BTIG Research Downgrades Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) to Neutral

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) was downgraded by equities researchers at BTIG Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. William Blair upgraded Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.00.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $103.83 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $105.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GPN. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $900,000. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,128,000. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 2nd quarter worth $333,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 5.6% during the second quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 13,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 11,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.