Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 4,527,859 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 105% from the previous session’s volume of 2,204,823 shares.The stock last traded at $104.74 and had previously closed at $110.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. William Blair upgraded Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

Global Payments Stock Down 6.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $26.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $105.75 and its 200 day moving average is $109.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPN. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 54.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 154.7% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $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.