The Goldman Sachs Group Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Global Payments (NYSE:GPN)

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $122.00 target price on the business services provider's stock, down from their prior target price of $155.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 9.53% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Global Payments from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.05.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $111.38. 1,490,516 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,092,423. The business's 50 day moving average price is $114.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Global Payments has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. acquired 5,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. The trade was a 15.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 65.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $109,857,000 after acquiring an additional 755,898 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Global Payments by 22.7% during the 3rd 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. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 316.7% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 609,939 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $58,981,000 after acquiring an additional 463,568 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at about $47,113,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

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.