BTIG Research Lowers Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) to Neutral

BTIG Research downgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on GPN. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a positive rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $141.36.

Global Payments Price Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $101.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $105.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Global Payments has a 1 year low of $91.60 and a 1 year high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 194.2% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,423,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $621,149,000 after buying an additional 4,240,388 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in Global Payments by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,797,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $639,967,000 after acquiring an additional 12,196 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Global Payments by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,957,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,307,000 after acquiring an additional 193,137 shares during the period. Glenview Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 1,948,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $247,412,000 after purchasing an additional 100,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,764,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $224,044,000 after purchasing an additional 14,235 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.