Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Given New $166.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $166.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stephens lowered their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.55.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE GPN traded down $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.32. The stock had a trading volume of 368,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,247,756. 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 company has a market capitalization of $28.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.81. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Global Payments by 470.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 27,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,623,000 after buying an additional 22,370 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the second quarter valued at about $251,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the second quarter valued at about $101,000. &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,067,000. Finally, Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA increased its position in Global Payments by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 90,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,727,000 after purchasing an additional 7,809 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.