StockNews.com Lowers Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $129.00 to $105.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $158.00 to $150.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Global Payments from $163.00 to $155.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $149.11.

Global Payments Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $103.24 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $121.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $95.12 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The stock has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sona Asset Management US LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,084,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,576,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA boosted its stake in Global Payments by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 12,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

About Global Payments

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.