StockNews.com Lowers Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) to Hold

by · The Markets Daily

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

GPN has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $141.36.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Global Payments

Global Payments Stock Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $101.02 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $105.57 and its 200 day moving average is $109.32. The company has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $210,000. Stanley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 18.9% during the second quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 125,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,146,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 82,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,499,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Global Payments by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 267,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,775,000 after purchasing an additional 29,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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