Barclays Cuts Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target to $125.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on GPN. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.33.

Global Payments Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Global Payments stock opened at $105.65 on Tuesday. Global Payments has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $140.38. The stock has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.16 and its 200-day moving average is $108.75.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. Equities research analysts predict that Global Payments will post 12.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. B. Baldwin, Jr. bought 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.00 per share, with a total value of $672,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,969,000 after buying an additional 1,659,984 shares during the period. Contour Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,695,000. Focused Investors LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,969,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Global Payments by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after buying an additional 785,539 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.