Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. Oppenheimer started coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.55.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $112.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $113.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.15. Global Payments has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,738 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,608. This represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in Global Payments by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 1.2% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 27.2% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 1.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.