Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on GPN. B. Riley cut their price objective on Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.71.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of GPN opened at $108.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $113.26 and its 200-day moving average is $107.50.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Global Payments by 134.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.