Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Stock Rating Lowered by BTIG Research

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) was downgraded by research analysts at BTIG Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

GPN has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $147.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.36.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $97.67 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $105.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.61.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Global Payments will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter worth $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the second quarter valued at $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 54.5% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its position in Global Payments by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 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.