Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and sixteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $138.55.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GPN shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. BTIG Research downgraded Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $112.58 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.89%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stanley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 18.9% in the second quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 125,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,146,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 65.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after buying an additional 785,539 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $562,000. Poplar Forest Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter worth $13,184,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 158.6% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 491,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,322,000 after acquiring an additional 301,358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.