Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.41.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 34.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,284 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $574,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 45.8% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 6.1% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 118,402 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,449,000 after buying an additional 6,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the second quarter valued at $222,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Trading Up 1.1 %

GPN stock traded up $1.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $117.08. 1,626,421 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,268,708. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 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. The business's 50 day moving average price is $108.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.29. Global Payments has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

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.