Brokerages Set Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Target Price at $136.50

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $136.50.

GPN has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $147.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Stephens decreased their price objective 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, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 194.2% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,423,463 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $621,149,000 after buying an additional 4,240,388 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Global Payments by 65.6% during the 3rd 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 188.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $109,857,000 after purchasing an additional 755,898 shares during the last quarter. Natixis increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 830.2% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 589,520 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $78,795,000 after purchasing an additional 526,143 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 490,411 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE GPN traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,780,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,294,866. 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 $29.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.46. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

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 0.86%. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.