Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives $135.71 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $135.71.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stephens lowered shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $110.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.07. The stock has a market cap of $28.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.