Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.75.

Several brokerages have issued reports on GPN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Mizuho raised Global Payments from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $86.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 4,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter worth $685,000. Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Global Payments by 114.4% in the first quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 18,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after buying an additional 9,768 shares during the last quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 85.0% during the first quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 1,828.3% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 45,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,498,000 after acquiring an additional 43,550 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of GPN opened at $87.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $85.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.49. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $120.00.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Global Payments’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.48%.

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.