Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target Lowered to $135.00 at Citigroup

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $138.00 to $135.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the business services provider's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $122.00 target price (down previously from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.33.

Global Payments Stock Down 2.3 %

GPN stock traded down $2.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.19. 2,189,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,729,614. The firm's 50 day moving average is $109.94 and its 200 day moving average is $108.82. The firm has a market cap of $25.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $140.38.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Global Payments's payout ratio is 16.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. purchased 5,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

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.