TD Cowen Trims Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Target Price to $122.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its target price lowered by TD Cowen from $125.00 to $122.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. William Blair downgraded Global Payments from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $141.36.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $101.02 on Wednesday. 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 has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $105.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.32. The company has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPN. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.