Analysts Set Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Price Target at $134.33

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $134.33.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Global Payments by 0.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 28,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 992 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE GPN opened at $101.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $25.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.95. Global Payments has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $140.38.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.18%.

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.