Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $135.71.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPN. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $122.00 target price (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $116.00 per share, for a total transaction of $672,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 3.4% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,638,862 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $679,952,000 after purchasing an additional 215,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Global Payments by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,445 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $605,078,000 after purchasing an additional 31,934 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Global Payments by 1.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,499,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $564,437,000 after buying an additional 83,481 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 22.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,646,854 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $271,090,000 after acquiring an additional 490,411 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Global Payments stock traded up $2.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $112.92. 1,395,567 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,508,577. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $112.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.87. Global Payments has a one year low of $91.60 and a one year high of $141.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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.