Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) PT Lowered to $140.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price objective lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an equal weight rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $160.00 to $157.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $145.32.

Global Payments Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE GPN opened at $96.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $100.52 and its 200 day moving average is $119.64.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 19.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Payments news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,087,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $646,151,000 after buying an additional 132,635 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Global Payments by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,797,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $639,967,000 after purchasing an additional 12,196 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Global Payments by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,402,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,657,000 after purchasing an additional 89,057 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Global Payments by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,980,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,777,000 after purchasing an additional 76,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth $365,933,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.