Global Payments Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NYSE:GPN)

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the business services provider on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th.

Global Payments has increased its dividend by an average of 4.0% per year over the last three years. Global Payments has a dividend payout ratio of 6.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Global Payments to earn $12.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.3%.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $105.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,975,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,514,933. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.01. Global Payments has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.94%. Analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GPN. StockNews.com raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.76.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.