Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BTIG Research cut Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.71.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $108.41 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.99. Global Payments has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. The stock has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 acquiring an additional 785,539 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 188.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,857,000 after purchasing an additional 755,898 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Global Payments by 1,559.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,502,000 after purchasing an additional 515,763 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Global Payments by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,090,000 after purchasing an additional 490,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 316.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.