Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price objective on Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.55.

Global Payments Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE GPN opened at $112.98 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $111.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.25. The company has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month 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.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 13,018 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 17.4% in the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 10.9% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 25,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,476,000 after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 102,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,899,000 after buying an additional 10,796 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Global Payments by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

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.