Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Cut to “Hold” at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Global Payments’ Q1 2025 earnings at $2.65 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.93 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.32 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.33 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $12.21 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. William Blair lowered Global Payments from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com cut Global Payments from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Global Payments to a strong sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Payments has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $141.36.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $101.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98. The business’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 current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Global Payments has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPN. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 54.5% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.