Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target Raised to $164.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $160.00 to $164.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

GPN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Global Payments from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Global Payments from $154.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Global Payments from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Global Payments from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $150.00.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $111.37. 3,191,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,029,470. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.69. Global Payments has a 52 week low of $95.12 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.01. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Global Payments’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 58.1% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 11,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in Global Payments by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 43,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.0% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 2.7% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 129,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,885,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. 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.