Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target Lowered to $120.00 at Barclays

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Barclays from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.88% from the stock’s previous close.

GPN has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.23.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $101.80. 336,986 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,273,805. Global Payments has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 194.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,423,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $621,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,240,388 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 188.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,857,000 after purchasing an additional 755,898 shares in the last quarter. Natixis lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 830.2% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 589,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,795,000 after purchasing an additional 526,143 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 267.0% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 677,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,602,000 after purchasing an additional 493,164 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 316.7% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 609,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,981,000 after buying an additional 463,568 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.