Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR)

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 6,049 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 199% compared to the typical volume of 2,020 put options.

Insider Transactions at Shift4 Payments

In related news, insider David Taylor Lauber sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.71, for a total transaction of $568,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 210,045 shares in the company, valued at $23,884,216.95. This represents a 2.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider James J. Whalen sold 1,462 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.07, for a total transaction of $147,764.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,748,585.23. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,462 shares of company stock valued at $1,211,364. Corporate insiders own 30.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments during the second quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Shift4 Payments Stock Performance

Shares of FOUR traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.66. The stock had a trading volume of 334,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,644. The firm has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 56.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.08. Shift4 Payments has a one year low of $55.87 and a one year high of $116.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FOUR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays began coverage on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. B. Riley increased their price target on Shift4 Payments from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Shift4 Payments from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Shift4 Payments from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $118.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.40.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.