Stephens Lowers Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target to $125.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Stephens from $130.00 to $125.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on GPN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. BNP Paribas raised Global Payments to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded Global Payments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.48.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of GPN stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.28. 2,207,476 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,270,846. Global Payments has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77. The stock has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $105.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.17.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Global Payments's payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,087.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.