Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives $138.55 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $135.95.

GPN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair downgraded Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $111.38 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.57. The company has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve 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.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 45.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 30.4% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Global Payments by 6.0% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 124,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,051,000 after acquiring an additional 7,033 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 71,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,868,000 after acquiring an additional 13,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 261,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,256,000 after purchasing an additional 25,373 shares in 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.