Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. William Blair lowered shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens decreased their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.55.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN stock opened at $112.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.93. The firm has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Global Payments has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

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 stock was bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Global Payments by 65.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after acquiring an additional 785,539 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 188.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,857,000 after purchasing an additional 755,898 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,090,000 after purchasing an additional 490,411 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 316.7% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 609,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,981,000 after purchasing an additional 463,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth $47,113,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.