Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Downgraded by Stephens to “Equal Weight”

Stephens lowered shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $120.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $125.00.

GPN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.71.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $105.89 on Friday. Global Payments has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The company has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.64.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 stock was acquired 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 directly owns 42,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,957,608. This trade represents a 15.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stanley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 125,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,146,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Global Payments by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,949,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $330,516,000 after purchasing an additional 349,457 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 65.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $562,000. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth $13,184,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.