Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Stock Rating Lowered by BTIG Research

BTIG Research lowered shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $141.36.

Global Payments Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE:GPN opened at $101.02 on Wednesday. Global Payments has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $105.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. Global Payments’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 54.5% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in Global Payments by 154.7% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.