Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives $138.82 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.65.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GPN. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.4 %

GPN opened at $99.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $105.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for 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%. Global Payments’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,087.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 29,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,027,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in Global Payments by 5.2% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Global Payments by 10.3% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 68,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,874,000 after acquiring an additional 6,370 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.