Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Shares Down 4.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) dropped 4.4% on Wednesday after Seaport Res Ptn downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $98.27 and last traded at $99.23. Approximately 890,017 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 2,230,778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.81.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.36.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,895,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,294 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Global Payments by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 115,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,635,000 after purchasing an additional 5,833 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $105.63 and its 200-day moving average is $109.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

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.