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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports 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 research note on Wednesday, September 25th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. William Blair downgraded Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stephens cut Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.71.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $109.11 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.96. Global Payments has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77. The stock has a market cap of $27.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend 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 that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 1.2% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Global Payments by 27.2% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 116 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.