Analysts Set Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) PT at $138.55

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $138.55.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GPN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Global Payments from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.5 %

GPN opened at $112.42 on Friday. Global Payments has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stanley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 18.9% in the second quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 125,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,146,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Global Payments by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $562,000. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,184,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

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.