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

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $135.71.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPN. StockNews.com cut shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp decreased their target price 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, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GPN. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,638,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $679,952,000 after purchasing an additional 215,399 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $605,078,000 after purchasing an additional 31,934 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $564,437,000 after purchasing an additional 83,481 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Global Payments by 13.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in 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 worth $271,090,000 after purchasing an additional 490,411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $105.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.71. 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 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.94%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

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.