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 report report published on Thursday morning.

GPN has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Global Payments from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $150.00.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $111.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap 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 has a twelve month low of $95.12 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $127.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.01. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Global Payments’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.84%.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in Global Payments by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 2.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 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 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.